Orihime and the Beast
by KizzoftheDead
Summary: A "Beauty and the Beast" inspired story! When Orihime Inoue is mistakenly led to the forgotten and cursed kingdom of Hueco Mundo, she is brought face to face with the prince of it's castle- a heartless beast named Ulquiorra... Ulquihime and some Grimmhime!
1. Prolouge

**Orihime and the Beast**

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**AN: Well, here it is. My first full-length-not-a-terrible-oneshot Ulquihime fanfic, aptly titled "Orihime and the Beast". Hope you enjoy! Please review. Please. XD**

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Long ago, in a faraway land, there lived a stoic prince, who ruled over a small kingdom. The prince was unkind and unjust; many called him heartless.

One gloomy and cold night, an old beggar woman found herself at the doorstep of the heartless prince's castle. Freezing and wanting shelter, the woman asked kindly for refuge from the bitter cold and rain- offering a single rose as payment. Horrified by her haggard appearance, the prince coldly turned her away. The woman warned the prince not to judge by appearances, for what lies within the heart is what truly matters. Still, the prince dismissed her, thinking that such ideas were foolish. And when he did, the horrid beggar woman transformed into a lovely enchantress. The prince begged her for forgiveness, but the enchantress would hear none of it- and she cast a powerful spell over the prince and the inhabitants of his castle, saying:

"Since you do not use your heart for love, I will take it from you until you learn to feel for the good of others, and love another ahead of yourself."

The rose she had previously offered was truly an enchanted one, and as she disappeared she warned the prince that if the last petal of the rose fell on his twenty-first birthday without him having learned the value of a heart: to love and be loved in return, he would stay a heartless and empty beast for all eternity.

The prince, after the spell took effect and the enchantress disappeared, looked down at himself in horror, seeing what he had become. Above his heart- or where his heart used to be- there lay a gaping hole, with the blackness of his own soul dripping forth from it down his chest. He was no longer human- no, he had become the picture of his empty heart: a black winged beast.

The kingdom fell to ruin, and the prince hid himself away, unable to feel even unhappiness as he lost his all that he had: emptiness swallowed him whole. All he had that connected him to the outside world was a magical mirror- the only kindness the enchantress gave him- and the rose, which soon began to bloom. To him, however, there was not even hope. For who could ever learn to love a heartless beast?


	2. What an Apple Can Do

**AN: Ulquiorra used to be happy, until he took a hole to the neck. **

**I don't know why I just wrote that there. Anyways, enjoy this chapter! Much love! AND PLEASE REVIEW. TT-TT**

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Orihime Inoue had been enjoying a delicious (noxious to anyone else) dinner alone by herself in her small cottage, when a very loud and aggravating knock broke the peace.

She had been living alone for quite some time- supporting herself with any spare job she could find in town- the most recent being a bookseller. She adored reading the books- often she would get bored and just grab one off the shelf, though technically she wasn't supposed to. She would read fairy tales- stories of princes and princesses, kingdoms and villages, dreaming of the day when her prince would come and save her. Her prince was purely hers- a man with the same color hair as her own, maybe just a little lighter- and deep brown eyes that you could just melt in. He would be a warrior, strong and fast, but gentle around her, and her only.

"Oi! Woman, I know you're in there, open the damn door!"

The man at the door was anything but her prince charming.

* * *

_She had first met Grimmjow on an evening stroll back from the market. Carrying a basket of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that nobody would ever think of mixing, she had accidentally tripped, sending all of her hard earned money rolling down the dirt road. One of the apples had tapped his boot, unfortunately striking his attention. _

"_You need to be more careful." _

_He picked the apple up then, as well as the other fruit and vegetables lying beside it, walking up to her. His eyes were a deep, almost un-natural looking blue, and his jaw was strong. His step overflowed with confidence, and his muscular body was toned to perfection- at least what she could see of it anyway. For a millisecond, she thought he was handsome. _

_That is, until he took a bite from an apple that she had just paid for. _

"_W-wha!"_

_He placed all the other goods in her basket, smirking a bit. _

"_Figure this is payment enough for picking up the mess you made. Eh? Or maybe…" He eyed her up and down once, not attempting to hide it. "You could let me walk you back to the market, buy you another apple, and then let me walk you home." _

"_Forget it. Just… leave me alone!" _

_She attempted to push past him, though he grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards him, his smirk widening._

"_Feisty huh?" He laughed as her cheeks went tomato red. "Don't worry princess; I'll leave you alone for now. Mark my words though…" he leaned in close, whispering to her with their noses almost touching. "I don't take no for an answer. You'll be seeing me again." _

_He let her go, took another bite of the apple he had stolen moments before, and flashed a feral grin before walking off._

* * *

Orihime had known she should've ignored the door. It had been two months since she met him, and visits like this were not infrequent. It was possible for her to be out- and he surely wouldn't have been forward enough to come inside without invitation, right?

"You're lucky I didn't break the door down. I don't like being ignored, princess." Grimmjow was currently sitting at her kitchen table, arms crossed, staring at her irritably.

She was wrong. He would've been.

"What do you want, Grimmjow? I was eating…"

He turns and looks at the food sitting on the table, his eyes narrowing slightly at the concoction. He then looks back up to her, a somewhat confused look on his face.

"You mean that crap sitting in the bowl right there? That's your dinner?" He laughs incredulously.

Her cheeks burn furiously, and she snatches the bowl off the table, huffing.

"N-no! I mean, yes! I mean..!"

She gives an exasperated groan, putting the bowl down and collapsing in the chair across from him, her head in her arms. Why had she been unlucky enough to get stuck with _him _following her around everywhere? He was worse than a pain- he was like the plague! All he did around her was complain, talk about himself, and string curse words that shouldn't even be _spoken_ through every sentence! If it hadn't had been for that stupid apple…! It was like the poison one in that Snow White story she had read at work! And in this case, she was Snow White, stuck in a horrible nightmare where there was an idiot following her around that turned into a dragon, and the dragon would try to take her places and would talk just like Grimmjow, all because she had bitten the poison apple and….

"Hey, stupid! Are you even listening to me? The hell is wrong with you?"

She picks her head up from her arms, glaring at him.

"You know Grimmjow… I just don't deserve you."

He laughs then, suddenly. It actually startles her, but she easily composes herself, biting her lip to keep from saying anything that would make him say anything. She had always been a patient girl, but this man was pushing her to her very limits, and sooner or later, she was likely to snap.

"Don't worry princess; you don't have to worry about your worth. See, the day we met, I realized something. You are the…" he gently grabs a lock of her hair, letting it slip through his fingers. "…prettiest thing I've ever seen- prettier than any other girl in this town. So as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter if you deserve me or not. What _really _matters is that _I _deserve _you_."

He leans back, crossing his arms again.

"I'll be damned if anybody takes you from me. You're gonna be my wife one day Orihime Inoue. You just wait and see."

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**AN II: Next chapter to be uploaded next Wednesday! (:**


	3. The First Petal Falls

**AN: Well, I know I said Wednesday, but I'm thinking that it's too long of a wait to have them up only once a week (especially when I'm super excited to upload them already and Wednesday is still five days away XD) SO, here is the next chapter! Enjoy and please, please, please review! (:**

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The black winged prince stands above the glass dome surrounding his precious rose, as the first petal falls. He stares at it for a moment, examining it under a cold stare. He is not shocked to find that he feels nothing about the first petal falling, though it has begun the spiraling fall to hell that the enchantress warned him of. He feels nothing when he thinks forward to the future that is sure to be- no despair, no loneliness, no anger… neither does he feel sympathy for the others who were cursed in his kingdom. They were all doomed as soon as he made his mistake, and they should realize that. He was and is a heartless monster, through and through. Nothing can change that now.

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The day was young, and Orihime felt more exhausted than the day before. The book-shop's owner had come into town, and was not happy at the state of the shop. Books were stacked on top of one another instead of filed; the doorway was blocked with packages of books he had sent to be organized, and Orihime Inoue had been sitting behind the counter of his desk, her nose stuck so far into a book he was sure she must've gone half-blind. In anger, he had forced her to stay late and organize everything, from the new books to the ones she had been reading.

Her feet pound with pain as she slips them into her flat (once comfortable, now uncomfortable) shoes, and as she ties her corset she hears her back popping in protest. She does not feel like walking, she does not feel like talking, and about the last thing she wants to do is go back to that musty bookshop filled with books she is now indefinitely not allowed to read. The owner had threatened to make her pay for the next book she picked up with intent other than to shelve or hand to another customer, and she knew she had no room in her budget for that. Not even her favorite breakfast (that would likely kill anybody brave enough to touch it, much less eat it) could cheer her up- she was caught in a rut of grumpiness, boredom, and pain.

Her day only got worse when Grimmjow came knocking at her door _again, _and right before she was about to leave the house on top of it.

This time, she was not in the mood.

"What do you want Grimmjow?" She murmurs irritably as she opens the door.

Grimmjow falls forward, having been leaning on the door (though he had thought he was leaning on the door frame), and misses crushing her in the process only by her quick thinking. She steps to the side, allowing him to fall forward, not a hint of sympathy in her eyes. He catches himself at the last second, steadying his massive person with cat-like grace. He gives a small, slightly awkward cough, though it still sounds cocky nonetheless. He wears grooms attire, smirking a bit.

"I figured I'd come to let you know that our wedding is in less than an hour, and that you might want to get dressed in something less… red."

She gapes at him disbelievingly, her mouth hung open in awe of what she can only think is pure stupidity. She is currently dressed in her work clothes- a red floor-length cotton dress with a white apron tied around her waist to wipe dust off of books with. He gives her his trademark smirk, gently lifting her chin with his hand, looking at her smugly.

"Ready to embrace your destiny sweetheart?"

The word "sweetheart" rolls off of his tongue in a sickeningly sweet way, making Orihime all the more irritated. She jerks her chin out of his hold, slapping him in the face without any hesitation.

She's finally snapped.

"Are you stupid? Honestly! Can't you take a hint?" She screams.

The noise calls attention to her small little cottage down the lane, and within moments there's a babbling crowd walking toward the home, thinking that perhaps Orihime is in some sort of trouble.

"It's like you're crazy! All you do is follow me around and talk about yourself and you just…! Ugh! Do you even know how to feel for anyone else? Or better yet, know how to complete a sentence without attaching a curse word to it? Because I honestly think you don't! It's like you're set on driving me _insane_!"

By the time she finishes her rant, there's a good sized crowd standing behind Grimmjow, snickering at the scene. He, however, is frozen, fury full force in his eyes. Suddenly, the fury begins to grow, and even change the color of his eyes- Orihime stands horrified as his pupils become mere vertical slits, like a cat's eye, and he begins to morph into something different, his bones cracking and skin splitting- until instead of a man standing in front of her, it's a dragon. He roars loudly, his large head coming closer and closer, teeth bared. She screams, and the townsfolk disappear as the flames shoot out at her…

Suddenly, an orange haired knight jumps out from behind some bushes that she didn't even know where there a minute ago and wow he's so handsome and cool and shiny and-

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A rooster wakes her up suddenly, and she practically falls out of bed in surprise. Her heart is pounding, and with a whine she falls back onto her pillow, groaning. For just a moment, and only a moment, she had thought that perhaps the dream had been real. A few tears stream down her cheeks, and she begins to whimper, burying her face in her pillow.

She thought prince charming had finally come to save her.

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That very night, a highly bored Nnoitra Gilga stands at the entrance of the castle, staring out the window with something akin to anger arresting all of his features. He holds one candle in his hand, which is the only illumination in the dark front hall. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, green hair slightly illuminated, steps up behind him, fully adult for the time being.

"You heard already?" She murmurs.

He turns around, glaring at her, a very hard-set sneer on his face. She takes that as confirmation, her eyes softening in something akin to fear, voice trembling gently.

"Yeah. The first petal has already fallen…"

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**AN II: Now the next chapter is to be uploaded on Wednesday! For real this time! XD I will be updating on Wednesdays and Fridays, for as long as I can keep up that pace! (: **


	4. The Black Castle

**AN: Yay! An update! :D It's funny, I think I enjoy updating this as much as I enjoy seeing updates for my favorite fanfics! XD Hope you enjoy! Please review, review, review! I love reading your reactions/thoughts! ^-^**

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After staying home the day before, Orihime felt refreshed, and decided to take a walk through town to try and find a different job. She had come to the conclusion that the reason she was so frustrated (and had cried the morning before), was because of her book reading, and that it would be healthier for her to try something new. So, she stood up, got dressed, and headed out to the road.

Oddly enough, Orihime doesn't really feel dismayed about the thought of leaving the book-shop. Really, she's more than a little excited. If she gets a good enough job, she'll be able to buy the books if she wants!

This thought immediately gives her added pep in her step, though it is crushed as soon as she walks into the main square. People start whispering. Immediately- people don't even try to hide it. She blushes, heart drumming in her chest, looking around for somebody- anybody- to tell her what's going on. However, when she realizes that nobody really wants to, she presses on, hoping to get out of the larger crowd of people. She is surprised when she bumps into a young girl, around her age, who is carrying a basket full of flowers.

"A-ah! I'm so sorry!" Orihime stammers.

The girl turns around, smiling in a friendly way.

"It's okay! It was just an accident!"

Orihime bites her lip slightly, trying to decide on whether or not to bring up the strange occurrence in the town square. The other girl seems to notice, looking confused for a moment before realizing that something is bugging the red head.

"Is… everything okay?"

Orihime looks down, sighing. How transparent she must be!

"I just… I'm a little confused, honestly. I walked into the main square just a little while ago and everyone was…"

The other young girl listens intently, her eyes filled with confusion until she mentions the main square. With a little bit of a shriek, the other girl's eyes widen, and she grabs Orihime's hand.

"You're Orihime Inoue, aren't you!? I can't believe it! Congratulations! You're sooooo lucky!"

"L-lucky..? For what?"

"Your engagement!"

"…."

Engagement? What in the world could this girl be… oh dear God. Her eyes widen in shock before they narrow in anger, and without a second thought she pulls away from the young girl, pushing her way through the crowd. She's gone blind with rage, and as she nears the street Grimmjow has told her time and time again to come visit (because he lives there) she stops. What could she be thinking, running to that man's house angry? He'll likely force her into a wedding dress while she's there! Again she bites her lip, running a hand through her hair. How dare he? How dare he put her in this situation, and on a day when she's feeling this emotional already! Tears well up in her eyes, and she runs in the opposite direction, back toward her little cottage. However, as she nears the small pathway to her house, she hears Grimmjow slamming on her front door, screaming curses and ordering her to open up. Heart hammering even harder than before, she changes direction and sprints for the tree-line that's only a moment away, panic setting in.

"_Please don't let him see me, please don't let him see me, please don't let him see me…!" _She thinks, pushing her feet into the ground. As she slams into the thick greenery, her dress gets caught, and she tugs on it until it rips off on the branches, pushing her way deeper and deeper inside the small forest. Eventually, she finds herself on a small grass path that is almost overgrown. She decides that she's now a safe distance away, and with a heart wrenching sigh she sits herself down beneath a giant oak tree.

"_Maybe I can rest for just a minute…" _she reasons, letting her head rest against the trunk.

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Coyote Starrk lies back comfortably on his bed, contentedly asleep, buried in the large amount of pillows he owns. A very excited Lilynette rushes in, about to jump on him and wake him up. Nnoitra, however, stops her in her tracks with a swift command of:

"Get out."

His eyes narrow, and Lilynette frowns, glancing over to Starrk, who is now eyeing them both warily. Lilynette begins to speak, but Nnoitra runs over her words.

"Do you sense that?"

Starrk runs a hand through his hair, frowning. He really had wanted to sleep some more, and even if he wasn't woken up by one of Lilynette's "attacks", he finds himself just as irritated as if he would've been. Even so, he figures that if he hurries up and answers them, or really, Nnoitra, he'll get to rest some more.

"Of course I do."

"It's a chance." Nnoitra smirks, his slimy attitude rubbing off in his voice.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Starrk murmurs, uninterested in whatever Nnoitra is planning.

"I want you to send your wolves out on whoever it is... and I want you to lead them here."

* * *

When Orihime wakes up, shadows are surrounding her as the sun has begun to set. She starts, eyes wide, and begins to gather herself up to try to rush back to her cottage. Who knows what lives out here?

For the briefest instant she remembers all of the scary stories she had read at the book shop, and she breaks into full fledged panic when she remembers one specifically about a girl getting lost in the woods at night. Not only that, there could be poisonous spiders, bears, wolves… she shakes her head at the thought. No more thinking that way. It's the same forest during the night as during the day, and nothing had disturbed her. So, she stalks back the way she came, heart slowly becoming less erratic, but paranoia still fresh in her mind.

As she begins to walk farther toward the tree-line, she slowly becomes unafraid. The night hasn't completely set in, and she can still see a hint of red in the sky. It hadn't really been a bad day, though she knows it had started out that way. She'll just have to talk to Grimmjow tomorrow, and that's fine with her- as far as she's concerned, he's just going to have to get over wanting to get married to her, because he-

Something large darts past her right, and her peripherals catch it. Her heart jumps, and she turns, seeing something big, dark, and hairy hiding behind a bush. Her panic slowly starts to slow, and she gives an exasperated sigh.

"Grimmjow?"

However, a pair of glowing red eyes shock her out of the assumption.

"Y-you're not G-grimmjow…" she trembles as she slowly steps away.

The wolf gives a low growl, and she begins to break into a full out run away as the beast crouches, as if to pounce on her. She hears it barking and growling behind her as it chases, and she chances a glance back only to shriek when she sees that two more have followed the first. She almost trips on the root of a tree but catches herself, and panicked tears begin to slip down her cheeks as she realizes that she can't keep up this pace for much longer. If only she hadn't fallen asleep! A branch catches her dress and she tries to yank it free, only for it to further tangle itself. The wolves growl and slow down, teeth bared, moving with slow deliberate steps.

"No! No! G-get away!" She screams at them, desperately wrenching at the dress, chest heaving from exertion. The wolves just keep inching closer.

Finally, it tears, and she breaks into a run once more, seeing the tree-line. She must've gone in a circle! She smiles brightly with no fear, knowing that safety is only a few steps away, and as she begins to break through the brush, she realizes the wolves have stopped following. Still not trusting the idea that they gave up, she pushes even harder, only wanting to get back inside her safe, warm cottage. Even Grimmjow wouldn't be a bad face to see! Okay, well, maybe just a little.

When she finally gets through, however, she stops, eyes widening. For, rather than her small cottage and the regular path to town, there is a giant stone walkway, leading to a castle black as the sky.

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**AN: Next update on Friday! (: **


	5. It's A Plan!

**AN: Dadadadaaaa! An update! (: I've been really excited about posting this one! XD Enjoy! Also, please review! I'm really happy to hear what you guys think, and I'm super curious about what you all will feel about this chapter! (;**

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Orihime is inside the castle- and she feels just as bad as she had outside. Darkness surrounds her, and the only light she can see is the hint of something from a room that seems much too far away from the front door. The aura of the castle is nothing like she expected. At first, she thought that it would be beautiful and amazing inside, but now… nope.

After a few more moments of twiddling her thumbs and hoping that whoever lives here will notice that she's inside, she decides to venture towards the only room that seems lit up. She bites her lip faintly (something she finds difficult not to do nowadays), and tries not trip over anything as she makes her way farther and farther down the empty entryway. She can see the faint outlines of paintings, and where the floor meets the wall, but otherwise….

"H-hello?" She calls, hoping that whoever is in the room will pop their head out and say something. However, there is no reply.

She looks to her right and left, into rooms that seem empty, but she can't un-see the eyes, the ones that follow her when she moves and seem to be beasts hidden in shadow. Her heart pounds hard, and eventually, she finds herself running down the long entryway, praying to _God_ that someone will be in that stupid room that's too far away and should be much closer! When she reaches the door, there is a candle sitting on a small decorative table right inside, and then a large fireplace at the opposite end of the large living room. There is a chair there, red and velvet covered, with a blanket hanging over the back as if someone had set it there for her. She chances to step forward, but stops when she realizes that there is someone sitting in the chair. At second glance, however, she sees nobody there.

Something brushes her hair behind her, and she shrieks, whirling around and backing away, trying to take in whatever is behind her, as well as _pushpunchjabclaw _at it too. Finally, whoever it is grabs her wrists, and with the speed of a viper, covers her mouth. She does not cease fighting, but does slow down when she realizes that it's just another girl in front of her- young, with blue-green hair and startling golden brown eyes.

"Shhhhhhh! You'll make _him _come out!"

Orihime ceases fighting immediately, her chest still heaving from breathing so hard, and Nelliel gives her a bright smile.

"You're okay, see?" Nelliel murmurs as she gently removes her hand.

It only takes Orihime a moment more to notice the skull on Nelliel's head, and she glances uneasily at it with a small gasp. Nelliel understands, and she shakes her head.

"It's just a mask, nothing to be afraid of… okay? I'm Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

"Uhm… I'm Orihime Inoue."

There's an awkward pause, and Orihime takes that chance to look at what the girl is wearing. She's never seen anything like it before… she wears all white, though the top and bottom half is separated from each other, and just like a man, she wears white pants. Orihime becomes significantly confused, but doesn't mention it, not wanting to scare off her only (friend?) guide by being rude.

"Orhime! You're bleeding!" Nelliel gasps suddenly.

Orihime finally looks down at herself, seeing that she doesn't look very normal either. Her dress is ripped to shreds at the bottom, and there is a long slit of a tear up her leg, that is covered in crimson that she can only imagine is her own blood. When she moves the dress aside, she sees a large gash that runs down to her knee and up to what she can only assume is her hip, since the dress is not completely ruined but the blood soaks that far up. She looks up at Nelliel, eyes wide, and her heart starts pounding hard when she feels the first rush of pain that her adrenaline had covered up until the moment when she saw the gash. She suddenly feels dizzy, and Nelliel reaches out to catch her when she begins to fall, but by then it's much too late. She hits the ground with a thud, and she lets out a heart-wrenching scream when she lands on her thigh. She starts to pass out, and her hearing becomes muffled.

"Ori…hi…me!"

She can only think that the gash must've gone straight down to the bone, or at least close to it. She looks toward Nelliel and see's her turned around, and behind her stands something so terrifying Orihime begins screaming again, loud and shrill and terrible. More people dressed in white rush in, all odd in the same way as Nelliel. Her vision goes blurry, but she still can see the shadows. Someone must see that _thing_!

The monster steps toward her, its black wings spread out. All of the people in white back away, and as the monster gets close enough for Orihime to reach out and touch, she blacks out.

* * *

Ulquiorra Schiffer stands above the half-dead girl in his living room, watching in silence as she finally passes out. Behind him stand all the others cursed in his castle, including an interested Nnoitra and a highly uninterested Starrk. Ulquiorra looks over at Nelliel.

"Pick her up and take her outside."

"B-but Ulquiorra… she'll die of blood loss! Can't she stay here? Just so she can heal?"

"No."

He turns, spreading his wings out slightly, giving the others the order to move away from the door with the simple action. All of them do, but (surprise) Nnoitra speaks up, stopping Ulquiorra in his tracks.

"She could break the curse! Are you gonna let our last chance die you stupid bastard?"

Ulquiorra turns his head, looking at Nnoitra from the corner of his eyes. He is immediately silenced, but does not stop glaring. The black winged prince leaves the room without another word.

* * *

Ten minutes after that, Nelliel still can't bring herself to take Orihime outside. Starrk lies in the chair in front of the fireplace, somehow feeling responsible, but not really caring anyway, as well as being half asleep. Nnoitra leans against the wall, watching Nelliel with a hint of disgust in his eyes. Figures the woman wouldn't open her mouth and back him- seems like they only talk when they don't need to. He crosses his arms impatiently.

"Well, since you were too stupid to fight for her to stay, when are you gonna throw her out?"

"I can't! She's… she's so weak. It wouldn't be fair! This patch up Szayel did won't last long… he told us that."

An awkward silence takes the room, and Starrk gives a bit of a groan when Lilynette nudges him with her elbow, trying to get him to say something. He gives a ragged sigh and looks over at Nelliel.

"Why don't you hide her and have Szayel fix her up better? It'll be a pain in the ass, but Ulquiorra doesn't come out that often. Much less give a crap about what's going on when he does."

Nelliel looks over at him, a bright grin breaking on her face. Starrk just gives her a look and lies back again. Lilynette smiles. Nnoitra smirks.

Well, it's the only plan they've got.

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**AN II: Yes, Ulquiorra has finally appeared! :D The next update will be on Wednesday! (: **


	6. Waking Up To Sunshine

**AN: You will never believe how much trouble this chapter gave me while writing it! XD Hope you all enjoy, and thank you so much for your reviews! Can't wait to hear what you think of this one! (:**

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When Orihime wakes up, the last thing she expects is to wake up in a bed comfier than her own. If anything she had expected to wake up in her own bed, at home, with an angry Grimmjow knocking at her door wanting to be let in. She had thought that the night before would end up a dream. It does not take her long, however, to realize that it definitely wasn't- for rather than Grimmjow's voice she hears heated whispering from two unfamiliar voices. She feigns sleep, trying to find out anything she can before they know she's conscious.

"What are we gonna do Nnoitra?" Nelliel murmurs. The voice calms Orihime slightly- she can't help but feel more comfortable that someone she knows, even if it's only a little, is in the room.

"If _he_ catches us, we'll probably all be dead…" Nnoitra replies.

He makes a disgruntled sound, as if surprised, and the room falls silent. Faint footsteps can be heard in what Orihime assumes to be a hallway, and she almost holds her breath, wondering who this _he _Nelliel mentioned really is. She remembers the monster she had seen the night before, and the way Nelliel had turned... is that monster who she's referring to? The footsteps fade away slowly, and when she realizes she won't get any answers by listening anymore, she finally opens her eyes. She tries to sit up, but to her dismay any movement seems to send shooting pain through and down her entire leg and side. She gives a soft whimper, and Nelliel rushes up to Orihime's side.

"Orihime! You're awake!" She exclaims, a bright smile arresting all of her features. "We thought you were never gonna wake up!"

A dissatisfied Nnoitra snorts, crossing his arms.

"You thought she wasn't. Szayel told us it could take a while."

Nelliel manages to stuff some pillows behind Orihime's back (without causing her pain), and it only takes her a moment more to hug her tightly, practically smothering Orihime with her bosoms.

"I was so-"

Suddenly, pop! Nelliel turns into a child, her once form fitting white clothes lying loosely around her, the shirt part becoming much like a dress. She falls to the ground beside the bed, while Nnoitra begins to laugh.

"Pathetic!"

"Iyt's not my fault I felled on my head last night helping you wit' her!"

Orihime sits there, stunned, staring at the now child Nelliel with wide eyes. Nnoitra slowly steps up.

"Hey woman… what're you staring at her like that for?" He frowns, eyes becoming almost snake like.

"I-I just d-don't understand…" She looks down, heart thumping in her chest almost painfully. Is she dead? How else could things like this be happening? That man is way taller than he should be! How did he even fit in the _door_?

"Hmph. Don't act so scared. If we wanted to kill you, we already would've- already could've, actually. We're your… friends." He murmurs, having trouble finding the word "friends".

Orihime nods, taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She knows she's safe, at least for now, and she tries to decide on whether or not to ask any questions. However, given the silence that takes over the room as soon as the man tells her they're her friends, she assumes they're waiting for her to speak. She knows she's in a castle, one that nobody had ever told her about in town…

"What is this place? Nobody ever mentioned anything like this out in the woods…" She finally manages.

"You're in the castle and forgotten kingdom of Hueco Mundo… nobody would know about it."

"Right! And 'dis is Starrk's room!" Nelliel chirps, climbing up onto the bed next to Orihime.

"Starrk?"

Orihime glances questioningly at Nnoitra, who scowls, obviously insulted.

"My name's Nnoitra. _That _is Starrk."

He points over to a mass of pillows that were obviously taken off the bed, and it honestly takes Orihime a few moments to realize that the person isn't literally the pillows like she had originally assumed (at this point, she would believe anything), but a man lying in the pillows, fast asleep. Nnoitra looks at her again.

"Lilynette is out keeping watch right now, and she's… well, his worse half." He smirks, enjoying insulting her even when nobody really cares. "See, you're really not supposed to be here. Ulquiorra won't like it if he finds out but… Lilynette got Starrk to cough up a plan. Nelliel couldn't bring herself to take you outside last night anyway." He glances over at Nelliel, who smiles awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Ulquiorra? The beast? The mo-"

Starrk cuts in, now awake from hearing his name mentioned.

"He's the man you were screaming bloody murder at last night… and the prince of this castle. He wanted us to take you outside and leave you there. I'm sure he'll be like a ray of sunshine when he finds out we didn't." He lies back, sighing, starting to fall back asleep again. "You can blame Lilynette when that happens." The room levels into a slight calm, and Orihime starts to lapse into thought again. After only a few moments, however, the door flies open.

The ray of sunshine had arrived.

* * *

Grimmjow sits in his favorite tavern in town, drinking his (eighth?) beer of the night. He's more than frustrated, he's fuming, and in a futile attempt to down the emotion, he's getting drunk. The day before, his woman had shown her face in town, so he expected that at some point she'd come home. However, he had waited all day for her return yesterday, and now this morning he knocks on her door to no answer. Taking another gulp of beer, he slams the mug on the table, frowning to himself.

"_Guess I'll have to do some investigating."_

* * *

Ulquiorra stands in front of the large window in Starrk's room, which is now empty, save for himself and the injured girl sitting up in Starrk's bed, pale as a ghost.

It hadn't been hard for Ulquiorra to notice Lilynette seeming strangely dodgy when he had walked down the hallway, or the fact that Nnoitra, Starrk, and Nelliel were nowhere to be found when he had decided to make sure they had done as they were told.

He _is_ a logical beast- he had taken into account that Nelliel was by no means loyal to the point where she would be as heartless as he is, and that Nnoitra had been angry when he had told her to dispose of the girl. Starrk and Lilynette came later, when he filled in the blanks on how the girl would've even been able to find the castle in the first place.

Of course, when Ulquiorra had walked in, there were no more dodging orders, or making plans. As soon as Ulquiorra stepped in, they stepped out. Even Starrk, who honestly could care less about anything, had left with the others.

Ulquiorra turns and looks at the girl, spreading out his wings comfortably. His ever stoic expression doesn't change, but hers does, and within seconds her heart is beating so hard he can hear it.

"You are unwelcome here." He states, his monotone voice still shocking Orihime. "Why you ever ventured inside is beyond my understanding."

Orihime, hands clenching the blankets on the bed, can't find a way to reply. He stares at her, frowning deeply, giving her a moment to try and compose herself.

"Did anybody follow you here, woman?"

She shakes her head immediately, forcing herself not to look into his eyes. Her heart jumps erratically now, right as she finds her words.

"N-nobody… f-followed. I…" She stops, attempting to steady herself. "Nobody knows that I…" She trails off, suddenly realizing that nobody knows where she is. It had been only by chance that she had found the castle, and it was unlikely that anybody was going to come looking for her, or find her, for that matter.

The beast stares down at her for a moment, trying to decide what to do with her. He knows now that if he killed her, it would be no problem for him. Nobody would come looking for her, nobody would find him, and he would be safe to live out his sure-to-be eternal punishment with no interruption.

"There were wolves chasing me… so I came inside." She states, her voice taking on a tone of strength rather than weakness, as it had before. Her voice shocks him out of his thoughts, and his gaze becomes cold. "That's why I came here. Plus, honestly, I thought that it would be like a… like a…" she trails off again, knowing how foolish it would sound to say such a thing- especially with someone so straightforward listening. She changes her sentence quickly, looking up at him.

"I don't want to die like this. I didn't know any better. Please, I'll stay here, I'll work… please."

Her pleading eyes meet his for a moment, and a strange electrical feeling shoots through his body. Unsettled, he turns away, frowning deeply. He weighs her offer, trying to decide what use she could be to the castle. The thought of the curse, of course, passes through his mind, but he dismisses it. Even if the woman does stay, he doubts very seriously that anything will come of it. However, he does notice that the woman is strong-willed, and much different than those who had once visited his kingdom. He turns, looking at her.

"You would stay here, regardless of your fear of me, woman?"

She looks up at him, eyes wide. With a quick nod, she agrees, looking back down once more, tears coming to her eyes. She had just agreed to leave everything behind. He ignores her tears, looking away. How weak, to cry over a decision that is self-made. Heading for the door, he comes to his own decision.

"You will join me for dinner tonight." He states.

The door shuts, and Orihime is left to register that he just allowed her to live.

* * *

**AN II: Isn't Ulquiorra just the brightest ray of sunshine ever? XD Next update on Friday! ^-^**

**P.S.: Shout out to xxmelusinexx on that Nelliel line! (;**


	7. No One Will Change Me

**AN: Well, since I'm not going to be around tomorrow I figured I'd post this tonight! (: It's not the dinner scene (as I'm sure most of you will realize after reading this) HOWEVER- that will be Wednesday's update! :P Please review and let me know what you think! Enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez stands at the door of Orihime's home, not even bothering to knock. He knows she's been gone for at least two days now, and it's still bugging him that the woman hasn't shown her face for that long. At first, he thought she might've taken a walk to the nearest town to get food or something she couldn't find in the market here, but now…

He looks at the door handle, frowning deeply. Vandalism isn't something he usually does but, under the current circumstances- he kicks the door handle with his boot, hearing the latch click immediately. The door cracks, and he looks around, making sure nobody is about to see what he's doing. He slips himself in with feline grace, shutting the door behind him. The cottage is still and dark, and there is no sign of anything amiss. He steps forward, looking around. Her bed is unmade_, "Though that could just be laziness_…" he thinks to himself. However, he soon notices that her nightdress is lying on it as well.

"_So she did get dressed, and she had been in town… but where did she go…?" _

He turns, looking around the rest of the house, becoming increasingly frustrated. Nothing, nothing at all to tell him where his woman went! How the hell is he supposed to marry her if she doesn't show up soon?

He frowns deeply as a thought comes to mind, and his face quickly sets into a sneer. His eyes light up angrily, turning electric blue, and a deep growl begins to emanate from his chest. She is his, nobody else's… and if she's trying to avoid him to be with someone else, well that's just too damn bad. He heads for the door, pulling it open, exiting, and slamming it shut.

"_If you don't show up soon woman… I'm coming looking for you."_

* * *

Ulquiorra slams his fist into a wall in his room, watching as the stone crumbles away around it. He feels no pain, but something is bothering him. Something is bothering him terribly, and he can't stand it.

The girl had made him feel... something.

No, no she hadn't, he reasons, forcing the thought back into his mind, pulling his fist out of the wall. It had been nothing; the sensation in the hole in his chest had _meant nothing. _It was a fluke, an oddity... his frown becomes deeper than normal, turning to the rose covered by a case on the only still-standing piece of furniture in his room. His heart is gone. It is impossible- improbable that he could feel.

So why does he seem so unsettled?

He turns away, standing up straight, spreading out his wings. Perhaps it's only logical that the girl had made him act strange. It was the first normal human being he had seen in years, years that felt like thousands or hundreds of thousands. _That _is why, he reasons, he had acted so differently.

Riding on his idea, he begins to become calm. Of course it had made him behave differently. Of course she had changed the way he acted- she is human, and at that, a strong-willed human different from many he had seen before. He steps up to the rose, looking down at it and the dead petal below it, not feeling anything even close to fear or hatred, only feeling the emptiness that has been there since the curse had been cast. Looking away, he steps up to the stained glass windows, pushing them open, staring at the sky, now red with sunset. Why had he even been put off by the idea? He had known when the enchantress told him what he had to do to break the curse that it was impossible. He relaxes. It still isn't possible.

The door opens behind him, and Nelliel enters, quiet, still, and adult again. Her eyes widen when she sees him standing beside the rose encased in glass, and for a moment she thinks that perhaps another petal has fallen.

"The rose has not changed." The prince states, diffusing her worry, though not purposefully. "That is the information you desire, is it not?"

She nods, giving a sigh of relief, suddenly remembering what she had originally entered the room for.

"I also wanted to alert you that dinner is ready. Ori- I mean, the girl is dressed in what you sent her, and is waiting at the table for you." She looks at the floor, still slightly afraid after what had happened earlier that day. He doesn't turn to her, the hole in his chest suddenly pulsating. He tries to fight it down and not show the change, but Nelliel notices the difference in his demeanor easily.

"You'll be fine, Ulquiorra. I know you're doubtful that she will break the curse but, she's done nothing but ask questions about you since you left the room. She's as nervous as you are. I honestly think this is your chance to start over. Plus…" she smiles faintly. "…you and I both know that you've started to feel again."

He turns and looks at her, frowning even more deeply than normal. Ridiculous.

"And how do you figure that, trash?"

"Your wings, Ulquiorra. They betray you." She murmurs, turning away, heading for the door. "Your eyes do too."

"I do not feel, woman. You and I both know that."

"You just think that," she replies quickly. "She's changing you, Ulquiorra."

"That is foolishness," He states, his tone becoming much colder- stopping her in her tracks immediately. She turns and looks at him, eyes widening slightly. "You have known me before this curse, and you saw what I was. The only emotions I felt for my kingdom were disdain, and lust for more power. I was selfish, hateful... and this form has only made it more appallingly clear. Do not think for a moment that she is hope. We all know that we have none."

For a moment she looks heartbroken, but she quickly pushes it away, knowing in her heart that he is wrong. She turns, heading out the door, Ulquiorra following behind closely, his emotionless face set in once again- his resolve hardened.

"No human will ever change me."

He pushes past her, unfurling his wings and flying down the corridor, heading for the dining room. Nelliel just frowns to herself.

"_Don't be so cocky, Ulquiorra. She may be nervous… but she's not scared of you anymore."_

* * *

**AN II: A bit of an ominous line from Nelliel, eh? (; Next update on Wednesday~!**


	8. I Lost My Appetite

**AN: Finally! The dinner scene! (: I really enjoyed writing this one: probably my favorite chapter I've done so far! Thank you so much for all the feedback! Please review and let me know what you think of this one! ^-^**

* * *

Orihime sits at the dinner table awkwardly, watching as servants place an array of different food down while humming a tune. She can't help but feel sorry for them- despite Ulquiorra not being in the room they all seem to have a sense of fear enveloped around them, as if they will be punished if they do not move quickly enough. She tries to keep the pity away, however, turning back to the food. The dishes look delicious, and honestly, Orihime is excited about eating. It's been a while since she last ate, so with all the food sitting in front of her she finds it hard not to be. She already knows what she wants to mix- the odd-looking red sauce would probably taste delicious with that cake…

The door to the dining room opens abruptly, and Orihime jumps, watching as Ulquiorra steps into the room. She turns away, however, when he gives her a particularly cold glare, frowning slightly to herself. The least he could do is be friendly to her, after ordering her to a dinner, and forcing her to wear something he sent (a black and white dress, much akin to the clothing of all the others).

"That is enough." He tells one of the servants who has just sat down another tray of food. "I doubt the onna will be able to eat much more than a plate full."

He steps to the opposite end of the table, folding his large wings in carefully and sitting down. Despite that he is oddly graceful, Orihime still notices the roughness with which he moves- the staccato in every step he takes. For a moment they sit there in silence, until one masked servant steps up and begins placing food on her plate, while another does the same for the prince. She blushes immediately, waving the servant away.

"No, don't do that. I can get it myself, thank you." She murmurs to her servant, holding her hand out for the serving utensil in his hand. The odd man (or maybe woman, it's difficult to tell behind the skull mask) glances over to the prince, who nods, a very confused expression already overcoming his features. The servant gently places the utensil in her hand, and freezes for a moment when Orihime gives him bright smile. The servant, though she can't see his face, seems to relax then, and he/she steps away.

"You are kind to them." The beast states, obviously not asking a question. She can't help but almost shudder at his voice.

"Someone has to be." She murmurs kindly, though jabbing at him, serving a hefty piece of cake to herself and then covering it in the red sauce. All of the servants glance at each other uneasily, and Yammy, who had cooked the food, looks particularly bothered. Ulquiorra frowns a little deeper, noticing the undertones of her reply, as well as being unhappy with her food choice. For a moment, the silence grows, and Ulquiorra (who is tired of having all of the servants standing there watching), gives a swift order for them to leave, which makes Orihime predominantly unhappy. She doesn't show it, however, only watching Ulquiorra steadily as he takes the first bite of his food. After a moment of this silence, however, Ulquiorra speaks once more.

"You look well."

She almost chokes on her first bite of cake, surprised to hear such a thing coming from someone who obviously knows nothing of kindness or pity.

"I had thought you would. Szayel obviously did the patch up, and he is quite excellent at healing. It's too bad it will likely become unnecessary soon. I doubt very seriously you will live long among those of my kingdom, especially when you begin cleaning, as they do."

She puts her fork down, her stomach suddenly unsettled. The beast notices, but continues speaking.

"What my subordinates hoped to accomplish with you I can't fathom… you are weak, even by normal human standards." His eyes narrow faintly. "You will likely become annoying to me."

"Say what you want. You know nothing about me." She murmurs back, frowning deeply. It had been true, what Nelliel had thought. By the time Orihime had finished asking questions regarding the prince, she was no longer afraid. As far as she was concerned, it seemed the prince was almost akin to a child, throwing tantrums and ordering others around when he really didn't deserve to.

For a moment, the prince thinks he catches a hint of something surfacing itself emotionally inside of him, though he quickly pushes it away, remembering what he had figured out before dinner. The girl is not changing him, and she never will… He takes another bite of his food, unflinching- he almost thinks he catches a bit of incredulousness in her eyes. He counts this as a victory for himself, noting that she isn't eating once more.

"You will eat, onna."

She stiffens slightly, though her eyes become even more incredulous than before. They quickly become determined, however, and she stands her ground.

"_Something _ruined my appetite."

He glances up at her, putting down his fork and standing up, spreading his wings, as if about to reprimand and intimidate her. Before he can speak, however, she stands up as well (using a crutch Szayel made her) speaking calmly, yet forcefully.

"Thank you for the dinner, but I'm tired. Goodnight, Ulquiorra."

She pushes her chair out carefully, walking for the door, not bothering to even look at him. His eyes have widened, but he stands still. Not knowing what else to say, he just watches as she leaves. Before she exits, however, she turns and looks at him.

"I'll prove you wrong. I'm not just a weak little girl. Like I said, you don't know anything about me."

It takes only a few moments more for her to leave, and the prince can't help but stare at the door for a moment, eyes glowering.

"_We'll see about that, woman."_

* * *

An hour or so later, Nelliel tu Odelschwanck stands washing dishes, while a very bored Nnoitra brings another tray of not-even-touched food back into the kitchen. With a growl he tosses it in the garbage, looking over at Nelliel.

"Did you hear how dinner went?" He snarls, obviously angry.

Nelliel sighs quietly, putting another clean plate back in the cupboard above her head.

"I can guess." She replies softly.

He turns to her and frowns, leaning against a counter, crossing his arms. For a moment, there's a soft sort of silence, and finally Nelliel speaks again.

"Nnoitra, do you think he'll ever change for her?" She glances over at him, her golden eyes practically melting. For a moment, they just share a gaze, and Nnoitra replies soon after.

"Too soon to tell." He murmurs, turning away.

He leaves the kitchen, but is not too far away to hear the popping sound that soon echoes down the hall, followed by the sound of the plate once-adult Nelliel had been holding shattering on the ground. Smirking but still holding back his laughter, he heads to his room, leaving Nelliel to fend for herself.

* * *

**AN II: Orihime's getting a little tougher, hm? :P Hope you enjoyed! Next update is Friday! :D**


	9. Refused Invitations

**AN: I really, really, really had fun writing this chapter. XD Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! (: Please review, and thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far! :D**

* * *

_~One Week and Many Refused Invitations to Dinner Later~_

Ulquiorra stands silently above all of his servants, watching as they run from here to there, attempting to finish their assigned tasks before nightfall. One in particular his gaze becomes fixated on- he watches as Orihime works along with them, sweeping the dirt off the entryway floor as quickly as possible. He feels faint dissatisfaction bubbling up underneath his skin as he watches, trying not to identify with what he knows to be true.

The girl had absolutely proved him wrong- she had worked all week and made no enemies.

His eyes narrow faintly as he watches her sweep the final remnants of the dirt out the door. She smiles brightly as her four companions (Nel, Nnoitra, Starrk, and Lilynette) step up, talking with her, apparently finished as well. He realizes suddenly that she has been ignoring his invitations to dinner since the first one, and has instead been spending time with the low-class fools that serve him.

"_Why is that…?" _He wonders to himself.

His personal messenger, however, removes him from his thoughts, and he glances over at the black haired magenta eyed girl stepping up to him. She bows gracefully, looking up at the prince and waiting for an order, as she has the past five nights Orihime has lived with them.

"Alert the onna that I…" He struggles to find a better word than _demand_, since it obviously hasn't worked for the rest of the week. "…request... her attendance at dinner again tonight."

The servant nods, bowing once more and walking off to follow Nelliel and Orihime to their room. Ulquiorra fails to notice the look of hatred that glints in her eyes at being forced to do so. Perhaps she had made one enemy after all.

* * *

_~ Later That Night~_

Orihime sits in herself and Nelliel's shared room (she had only been hidden in Starrk's room for a while, and had immediately moved in with Nelliel when asked), sitting cross legged on the bed; her wound well enough to do so. It hadn't taken as long as Orihime had thought it would for it to heal, though judging by how everyone talked about Szayel he seemed to be a truly gifted healer.

Her dinner sits comfortably in her lap, a small bowl filled with some soup she has never had before, and honestly doesn't like much. She thinks fondly of the strange red sauce she had put on the cake at dinner the week before, thinking that it would probably taste even better with the bland soup in her lap…

"You don't like it much, huh?" Nelliel smiles, sitting across from her, the same soup in her own bowl.

Orihime looks up suddenly, flushing bright red.

"N-no! It's delicious! See?" She sips a bit of the soup, trying afterwards to mask how disappointed she is with the taste.

Nelliel begins laughing, shaking her head and then stopping when she notices the small pain where she bumped her head helping Nnoitra with Orihime the week before- afraid she'll suddenly turn into a child again. Either way, it fades, and she suddenly remembers the invitation to dinner Orihime had received again that night.

"You should go eat with Ulquiorra. He had Yammy make you really good food last week…" She trails off when she sees the strange look on Orihime's face. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh… I just… I can't." She laughs softly. "Honestly, Ulquiorra really made himself clear while I was eating with him. He doesn't like me, and he only thinks of me as a burden. I'm not gonna show him that I'll break under bad treatment, even if it means working hard and eating bland soup. He said I was weak… and I'm not." She nods, taking another sip of the soup and deciding to just put it down because she can barely taste whatever it's made of and _oh_ what could that _terrible _stuff be?

Nelliel thinks about it a moment, gently picking up her own bowl and sipping the soup rather than using the spoon as Orihime had.

"You could always give him another chance." Nelliel murmurs after putting her empty bowl down, looking over at the one Orihime set down longingly. Orihime notices, handing it to her.

"Not until he apologizes, or admits that he was wrong." She says, smiling brightly when Nelliel's eyes light up about getting to eat more than her own share. "I'll be fine- and I'm definitely not going to prove him right."

* * *

Starrk lies sleeping in his bed (which is really the mass of pillows on the floor), and Lilynette sits on the real one, eating the soup that everyone had received that night. She doesn't dare touch Starrk's helping of course, judging that he'll wake up soon and be hungry. She sighs, finishing her own and lying back in bed, planning on sleeping herself. Suddenly, however, the door bursts open, and an expressionless Ulquiorra steps in, successfully startling Starrk awake and shocking Lilynette out of bed. For a moment they all just stand there staring at each other, until Starrk finally breaks the silence.

"I was sleeping."

"I never doubted that, trash." Ulquiorra replies, Lilynette snickering to herself faintly, but keeping silent otherwise. Eventually, realizing he has to elaborate, Ulquiorra speaks again.

"The onna has refused my request for her presence at dinner."

Starrk and Lilynette glance at each other, apparently thinking the same way. Did he just ask for advice… without asking for advice? They look back to him, and Lilynette finally speaks.

"Why wouldn't she?"

The beast's tail flicks irritably, and his wings flap in warning for the blunt way she spoke. She goes silent, and Starrk finally sighs, trying to rephrase the question for her.

"What she meant to say was… well… yeah, she had it about right. You're an asshole." He murmurs flatly.

Not caring what Ulquiorra thinks, he goes back to lying in his pillows comfortably again. Lilynette crosses her arms, and Ulquiorra's wings droop a little lower than normal, though nobody but himself notices. Processing what Starrk told him, he finally speaks again.

"She overreacted."

"You insulted her, moron- at least from what I hear." Lilynette cuts in, realizing that he likely won't admit he did anything wrong, especially since he doesn't seem regretful about the curse. "You may be heartless, but she's not."

Ulquiorra frowns a little deeper, watching as Lilynette goes and kicks Starrk in the side, successfully rousing him again. He gives a faint glare at the young girl, running a hand through his hair, sitting up, looking at Ulquiorra.

"Why don't you try being pleasant?" He mutters.

Ulquiorra turns, heading for the door.

"I didn't ask for your advice, trash." He says as he leaves the room. The door slams shut, and Starrk and Lilynette glance at each other again, realizing he's in complete denial. Lilynette rolls her eyes and goes back to bed, and Starrk finally notices the food sitting on the small table that every bedroom in the castle has.

"When the hell did that get here?" He asks.

* * *

**AN II: I love writing Starrk and Lilynette. They're just so straightforward and honest about everything! Ulquiorra... no so much. XD Also, any guesses to who that magenta eyed, black haired servant is? (; Next update on next Wednesday! ^-^**


	10. Cinderella Had It Worse

**AN: I cannot tell you how much I really hated this chapter while I was writing it, but now its grown on me! XD It is a very transitional chapter, but I think it's got enough to be interesting! (; ^-^ Also, thank you guys so much for over 50 reviews now, I'm really happy to see so many people enjoying the story- it truly keeps me going! :D Thank you so, so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

A breathless Orihime takes a moment's rest, giving her very sore arms and raw hands a much needed break. She sits on the floor of the castle's large ballroom; a thick scrubbing brush and a bucket of soapy water her only company. She and her friends had all been surprised when Ulquiorra had assigned her the daunting task that morning, Lilynette and Starrk even more so than the others.

All of Orihime's friends had offered to help her with the large room if they finished early, though Orihime immediately refused. She couldn't bring herself to have them do their own work and then come finish up for her, especially since all of their tasks were likely more daunting than her own… though now, as she sits looking around at the rest of the floor, she feels a bit depressed. It had taken her all the way until lunch to finish dusting, polishing, and sweeping, and when she's realistic with herself she knows she'll miss dinner. The break at lunch had cost her a good hour of sunlight, and to take another hour for dinner… her stomach growls, but she ignores it, giving a soft sigh.

Even though she's hoping for the best, she knows she'll probably be scrubbing much past sunset too. So, she stands, wiping her hands on her now very dirty white dress, and heads over to one of the small tables in the room, grabbing a three-tier candelabra that has already been lit for the coming night. She glances over to the door for a moment, a sad expression coming over her face when she thinks of her friends. She honestly misses them all- having to be alone in this makes it all the more difficult.

With another faint sigh she steps back to her brush and bucket, placing the candelabra down on the floor as carefully as possible, close to where she's working. With a faint whimper she sits back down, grabbing the brush and beginning to scrub once more.

"_Stop being such a baby…" _She tells herself. "_You'll be fine. You're more than halfway done with the floor already. Plus, even if you finish on time Nelliel and the others have night-duty guarding outside anyway."_

She smiles faintly to herself as the next thought comes to mind.

"_Cinderella had it worse than you."_

* * *

Nnoitra Gilga frowns deeply, working by himself as well. That morning he was assigned to dust all hallway paintings and furniture- and it seems like it's never going to end. He's not tired, of course, but he is quite irritated- every time one of the other citizens pass him by he has to move himself out of the way, and his "spoon-head" keeps getting caught on the ceiling.

"Nnoitra." An unfamiliar voice pronounces.

He stops, glancing over at where the voice came from, realizing who it is.

"What do you want, Loly?" He murmurs irritably to Ulquiorra's personal servant, expecting an extra order from the prince. He turns back to dusting, walking down the hallway a bit, expecting her to follow and explain while they walk. She doesn't, however, and he finally stops, glaring at the girl.

"I'm not here for orders. I need to talk to you." She finally replies, crossing her arms. Nnoitra does the same, aura filled with hatred- if there's one woman he hates more than the all others in the castle, it's definitely her.

"Well then spit it out, I got better shit to do than listen to you talk."

She smirks a little to herself, not insulted by his reply, actually faintly amused.

"How is Orihime?" She murmurs in mock-innocence. "Is she having fun tricking all of you?"

He scoffs faintly, glaring at her even more hatefully than before. Loly laughs a bit, noting that he hasn't said anything in reply, and lets her arms down leisurely.

"_Princess _has made you weak."

He scowls then, halfway wanting to throw her through a wall, turning away instead. Ulquiorra wouldn't be happy if he killed her, and he doesn't feel like dealing with him right now.

"You're more stupid than I originally thought." He manages to mutter as he walks off, leaving her alone in the hall. With a flash of insanity in her eyes and an even bigger smirk, she turns away as well, letting him go to think about what she'd said.

"_This is gonna be all too easy." _She laughs to herself.

* * *

_~That Night~_

Ulquiorra stands above Orihime, the bucket of soapy water she had been using earlier hanging dangerously above her head in his hands. He had found her asleep about an hour after she had finished the ballroom (she passed out minutes after she was done, the dim candle-light all too enticing). His face is blank, though internally he's attempting to decide whether or not to pour it. On one hand, he believes it's deserved, though on the other Starrk and Lilynette's words continue to echo in his head.

"_Why don't you try being pleasant?" _

"_You may be heartless, but she's not." _

He glances down at the young girl, noting her raw and bleeding hands. She _had_ finished the ballroom, and done a commendable job at that… looking down at his reflection from the floor, he frowns deeper than normal, putting down the bucket quietly and turning back to the girl instead. Without a sound, he picks her up, careful about his claws, letting her body hang limply in his arms (he isn't one to understand comfort much). Grabbing the candelabra with his tail, he holds it in front of him, spreading his wings out and then contracting them to fit down the long hallways. He looks down at her silently as he walks, noting how peaceful she looks in sleep, as well as realizing how beautiful she is. Her long red hair looks like flame in the candlelight, her black lashes are long, and her lips look soft to the touch. Nobody can deny that she is beautiful, even himself…

He is brought out of his thoughts when the girl moves, shifting in her sleep. She lifts her head up, as if she's waking, and Ulquiorra stops, eyes widening, watching as she rests her head against his chest, and curls up closer to him. She gives a contented sigh and falls straight back into a deep sleep. Ulquiorra takes a few moments to make sure she's settled again, hesitant. Even if he isn't afraid, he'd rather her not wake up in his arms. He doesn't waste time after that, and he moves through the halls at a slightly quicker pace, soon coming to her room and opening the door.

He walks for the empty bed, setting her down gently (subconsciously), and places the candelabra on her bedside table. Without a sound, he leaves the room, only glancing back once at her sleeping form.

* * *

The next morning, Orihime wakes up in bed after a particularly strange dream. She stretches out, sits up, and rubs her eyes tiredly, whimpering faintly when she realizes how much it hurts to move her hands. She looks at them, and frowns deeply when she notices that they're blistered.

"Ow…"She murmurs, cutting herself off when she notices the out-of-place candelabra on the night-stand, as well as the new dress sitting beside it. With a smile, she stands up; noting that it's an exact copy of the one Ulquiorra had sent her before. Her eyes light up faintly, and she picks up the dress, deciding to get changed. The dream hadn't been a dream at all.

He had finally apologized.

* * *

**AN II: How'd I do? XD Also, what do you think Loly is up to? (; Next chapter will be up on Friday! :D See you guys then! Much love! :D**


	11. The Second Petal Falls

**AN: I really had a lotta fun with this chapter! :D Probably my favorite that I've written so far... and it's the longest! XD I wanted to give you guys a bit longer of a chapter in celebration of it being the TENTH! :D (If you don't count the prologue, that is). Anyways, thanks for reading- leave a review telling me what you think! ^-^ **

* * *

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez cuts through some thick brush with his hunting knife, a group of men searching the brush in front and around him. In his other hand he clutches the only thing he's found of his woman- the piece of cloth that had ripped from her dress when it had got caught in the bushes. A determined and irritated frown covers his face, and as one of the search party members strides back to talk to him, he turns a cold gaze to the man without much thought or care.

"Grimmjow, we've been searching for a week. The girl is dead by now if she's out here- there are wolves out along these paths, everyone knows that."

It doesn't take but another second for Grimmjow to punch him straight in the mouth, knocking him out with one strike. He draws his cloak around himself a bit tighter afterwards, noting how chilly the air is- fall is slowly coming to a close and winter is taking its place… if he doesn't find her by then… stepping over the unconscious man, he barks out an order.

"We'll keep searching until nightfall and then start again tomorrow."

The men grumble, but continue on, and Grimmjow looks down at the cloth with a hateful look in his eyes.

"_You better not be dead, woman."_

* * *

Ulquiorra looks down at the enchanted rose, a somewhat darker aura surrounding him. The rose shines gloriously in the evening light, though the two dead petals lying on the table underneath it overshadow whatever beauty the rose truly holds. He touches the glass globe with one of his claws, letting it slowly slide down the glass, a few small scratches appearing on the surface where he touched. He honestly isn't surprised- it had been a while since the first petal fell, though he hadn't really expected another to fall until the coming of winter. A timid knock at the door makes him turn, and he steps away from the glass (as well as his thoughts), turning his attention to whoever waits outside.

"Enter." He states, his voice monotone.

Nelliel does so, a happy smile on her face. When she sees the rose, however, it slowly melts into a look of sheer terror- another petal had fallen.

"Are you truly surprised?" Is all the beast asks in response to her expression.

She tears her gaze away from the rose, glancing up at the beast silently, attempting to steady herself. He just glares at her coldly, waiting for whatever she came to tell him, since the rose had obviously been the last thing on her mind. After a few moments more of silence, Nelliel finally finds her words, stuttering from shock at first.

"S-she said y-yes." She murmurs, the beasts eyes narrowing in faint puzzlement. Realizing he doesn't understand, she elaborates, a hopeful look on her face. "She wants to have dinner with you."

She had finally given him another chance.

* * *

Young Orihime waits silently in the large dining room, not sitting in her chair as she had before, but standing in front of one of the large windows, enraptured in thought and the sight of the beautiful sunset outside. The servants work quickly behind her, setting out food just as they had at the first dinner she had attended. For some reason she finds herself completely calm- the thought of eating dinner with the prince again does not worry her- he had been kind to her the night before (whether he had meant to or not), and he hadn't killed her when she spoke against him the last time… the door opens, but she doesn't turn, her eyes slowly becoming downcast when she realizes that the glass is fogging up with her breath due to the cold outside.

"Onna." The beast states, standing at the doorway and watching her with a steady, though not cold, gaze. The young girl turns, her downcast face slowly melting away as she gives a small smile at him.

"I'm sorry." She murmurs. "I was just watching the sunset."

Her eyes light up faintly when she glances back out at the sky one last time, and the beast says nothing in return, watching silently as she takes her seat at the end of the table. The beast, respectively, takes his seat at the opposite end, a servant immediately placing food on his plate, as had happened at the last dinner. No servant, however, serves Orihime, and she becomes greatly confused, the emotion showing on her face.

"You did not want to be served the last time." The beast says in reply to the look, the same servant she had before bringing her a serving utensil. She takes it from him gently, glancing over at the beast with a smile, murmuring a thank you, part-way to the servant and part-way to the prince.

"_Maybe he's not as much of a beast as I thought… he's trying, at least." _She thinks to herself, eventually turning to the array of food set out before her. Not knowing what she wants, she looks over all the choices as Ulquiorra takes his first bite She notes the lack of the red sauce she had used, and the cake, but also notices that there's a yellow sauce that would likely taste fantastic with the fish…

She stands up carefully, getting herself a small helping of the fish and then slathering the yellow sauce on it. She goes to sit back down, smiling happily, once again not noticing the disgusted faces of the cook, servants, and prince.

"You choose strange-" Ulquiorra starts.

He is cut off from insulting her food choice when Orihime half-way squeals in delight after eating her first bite, her eyes lit up to the brightest he or the servants has ever seen. She practically hops out of her chair, skip-walking straight over to the prince, a bright grin in place.

"You have to try it!" She says to a very bewildered Ulquiorra, who has no intention of trying it at all. He stares at her blankly, and Orihime holds the plate out to him, apparently anxious for him to try the not-so-tasty looking combination.

"I do not eat fish." The prince finally manages, feeling uncomfortable with the crestfallen look she gives when he doesn't try it. He takes another bite of his food, though the woman doesn't move- her face slowly changes to one of irritation when she notices that he has fish on his own plate.

"You're lying!" She states incredulously. "You have fish on your plate!"

All of the servants glance at each other, snickering to themselves.

"Yes, but mine doesn't have the sauce on it."

Her eyes narrow, and she frowns, giving a slightly pouty face, holding the plate out closer to him.

"Try it."

"No."

"Try it!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"…."

She frowns deeply, glaring at him irritably, grabbing his plate before he can take another bite with his fork and sliding hers in its place, smirking triumphantly. The servants all look as if they're afraid he'll kill her for it, though after he closes his eyes for a moment and thinks about it, he eats a bite of the fish from her plate. He is unsurprised to find it absolutely horrible in taste. Orihime's eyes widen in excitement as she watches him chew, leaning toward him in anticipation.

"Well…?" She asks interestedly, watching as he turns and looks at her after swallowing.

"It is terrible, onna."

The girl practically falls over, so surprised with his reply that she can't manage to find any way to respond, or to move. The beast takes his own plate from her unmoving hands during this pause, placing her own back into her hold, watching as she- in stunned silence- walks back over to her seat, eating the rest of her meal. He does not feel worried, though the thought that he could've insulted her again passes through his mind, so he eventually murmurs:

"The yellow sauce is unappetizing to me."

The girl glances up at him, eyes widening.

"Well then you have to try-"

"Our tastes likely differ." He cuts her off, highly unwilling to try anything else she mixes- remembering the nauseating combination of spicy sauce and cake she had eaten the last time they were seated at dinner. She stops then, knowing she's probably tried his patience anyway, sighing faintly to herself, turning to her thoughts.

"_It's odd." _She thinks, glancing up at Ulquiorra. _"How easy it is for me to forget he's a beast… I just forced food down his throat. He could've killed me." _

She smiles awkwardly to herself (sweat-dropping), after a few moments more of silence deciding to serve herself some fruit, placing some grapes and apples on her plate. Yammy and the other servants are greatly surprised to see her eating them plain. The prince glances up at her, surprised as well, though mostly watching as she looks out the window at the night sky.

"_If any other person had attempted that with me, I would've killed them." _He frowns a bit more than normal. _"Perhaps she is changing me after all." _

She glances back to him then, meeting his eyes and then smiling brightly- even brighter than when she had tried the practically toxic fish and sauce combination.

He suddenly finds it difficult to think of himself changing as a negative thing.

* * *

After dinner, Nelliel stands in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes from the night's meal as per usual. Nnoitra walks in, carrying a tray of food and throwing it away, as he does after every meal. Nelliel glances over at him, noticing how quiet he seems.

"Are you okay, Nnoitra?" She asks, putting a clean plate up in the cupboards, and then turning to him questioningly instead of grabbing another to wash.

"Nothing to complain about." He replies, smirking faintly and crossing his arms, apparently in a good mood. Nelliel smiles and nods, though her smile slowly dissolves into a frown when she remembers that another petal has fallen from the rose. Her eyes become shallow, and it's easy for Nnoitra to notice- his smirk quickly becomes a frown, and he steps forward, looking down at her with a questioning expression.

"What's wrong?" He asks (surprisingly gently), his uncovered eye narrowing faintly. She glances up at him, touching his arm gently, though he jerks it away, not tolerable about anybody touching him. She frowns, sighing, hesitating only a moment longer before telling him.

"It's the rose… another petal fell." She murmurs quietly, her voice tinged with sadness, as it always is when speaking about the curse.

Nnoitra can't find a way to reply.

* * *

**AN II: Another petal has fallen! Dun, dun, dun...! XD And yes, Ulquiorra and Orihime are finally getting a bit closer! :D I hope you enjoyed, I really loved writing the new dinner scene myself so! :P Next update will be on Wednesday! (: **


	12. Iyt's Snowin!

**AN: Finally another update! XD I'm really excited about this chapter, just because it's sort of delving into the main story line a bit more. (; Hope you enjoy! Please review with what you think! :D Also, thanks for all the reviews so far!**

* * *

_~3 Days Later~_

"ORIHIME!"

A very excited Nelliel wakes Orihime, who sits up immediately, wondering what's wrong. She rubs her eyes exhaustedly. She had stayed up late the night before talking with her friends after dinner with Ulquiorra. (It had easily become a regular thing, though sometimes all they did was eat together without speaking.)

"What is it Nel…? What-" She is cut off by the sound of a loud pop, followed by Nelliel's child-like voice screeching:

"IYT'S SNOWIN'!"

Orihime is suddenly just as excited as the blue-green haired child, and she jumps out of bed immediately, running for the window, grey eyes wide. For a moment, she just watches as the small white flakes drift to the already snow covered ground with a happy expression, but as she does so the emotions in her eyes and aura seem to melt away, becoming something very different. Nelliel doesn't notice (since she's currently prancing around the room), and Orihime steps away from the window silently, a sad sort of smile on her face.

"_Winter already… how long has it been since…?" _

"Orihime! We haffa tell Nnoi- Nnoi- You know whoo I mean!" The young girl squeals as she grabs the red-head's hand and breaks her concentration. Orihime nods silently, giving a genuine looking smile that only she could manage to fake, and lets the young girl drag her out of the room toward Nnoitra's. Within minutes they reach the door, and Nelliel slams on it multiple times, until a very sleepy and annoyed Nnoitra wrenches the door open.

"Can you shut up?!" He snarls to Nelliel, who is immediately silenced. It takes him only a moment more to notice Orihime, who looks very awkward about the whole situation. With a glance at Nelliel's disappointed face, his irritated expression lessens slightly, and after a few seconds of silence he moves out of the doorway, muttering a quick invitation for them both to enter.

"Iyt's snowin'! Iyt's snowin'!" Nelliel sings as she dances around the windowless room. Nnoitra looks surprised, his whole demeanor seeming to change to one of general interest.

"Guess it started last night. Couldn't tell in here…" He murmurs as he glances around the room and then at the very quiet Orihime. "The hell is wrong with you?"

Orihime looks surprised, eyes widening and cheeks flushing, immediately shaking her head and holding up her hands in an apologetic gesture.

"Nothing's wrong! What would be wrong?" She laughs the sentence off, masking whatever emotion Nnoitra had noticed moments before. He frowns at her, suddenly realizing that he genuinely cares about how the girl is feeling, and simultaneously recalls what Loly had told him the day he found out another petal had fallen.

"_Princess __has made you weak."_

He hangs on to that thought for a moment, zoning out and not noticing the confused look Orihime is giving him, or the similar one Nelliel is giving either.

"Nnoitra?" Orihime finally ventures, shocking the slimy man out of his thought process.

"What?" He asks her with sudden frigidity, glaring faintly. She notices and immediately shakes her head, surprised when Nelliel slices through the tension by immediately jumping onto Nnoitra and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Let's go owtside _now_ Nnoytra!" She half-shrieks, childlike voice only growing higher, a giant grin on her face. Nnoitra pushes her off immediately, with a large amount roughness, not caring as the young girl slams into the floor. Orihime quickly runs over to her, looking up at Nnoitra with bewilderment that isn't usual for her to feel.

"Why would you do that?" She asks, eyes filled with faint fear of the man, whose whole body seems to be leaking a sense of danger. He crosses his arms, looking away, scoffing faintly.

"Just get the hell outta here." He growls, voice rough with an emotion that Orihime can only compare to hatred. She nods immediately (though she's confused), picking up Nelliel in her arms carefully and heading for the door. Nnoitra glances over at the pair leaving, unable to keep himself from meeting eyes with Nelliel, who is looking at him with a great amount of hurt in her eyes.

The door shuts, and Nnoitra is left alone to register the expression.

* * *

Ulquiorra stands outside on his balcony, breathing in the chill air with a sense of calm. He watches as the snow drifts to the ground slowly, and jumps off, landing on his feet at the entrance of the castle with no problem or pain, though when the cold snow touches his skin he twitches faintly. He had experienced it before, of course, but with every winter the curse is brought to the front of his attention- it had been on a night like the one before that the enchantress had visited the castle, and tested his heart, only to find that he was nothing more than a heartless monster.

He turns around, spreading his wings, looking at the looming black castle, noting the pure white of the snow against it. It suddenly reminds him of the onna- and the conversation they had shared at dinner the night before.

* * *

"_Why do you look discontented, woman?" _

_The young girl glances up from her plate, eyes wide, fist tightening around the silver fork she holds in her hand, apparently startled. The prince waits for her to answer silently, eyes narrowing only faintly when the silence only seems to grow. _

"_It's… nothing." She replies, quickly taking a bite of her food, hoping he will leave it at that. When she looks up and realizes that he is still staring straight at her, however, she knows immediately that she'll have to explain. "It's just the… the cold." _

_He puts his own fork down, glancing over at a servant, who scuttles over, awaiting an order. The prince looks over at the woman across the table, making sure he understood correctly before sending the servant to go get blankets for the woman._

"_You are cold, onna?"_

_She half-laughs then, eyes dulling in faint sadness, shaking her head. _

"_It's not the cold itself… just… winter." She murmurs, picking at her food. The prince dismisses the servant then, waiting for her to elaborate further. She stays silent, however, continuing to pick restlessly at her food. For some reason the prince becomes more interested than ever before- he has never seen the woman in this type of mood, only happy or very determined. Of course he doubts that it's the season itself, but he feels hesitant to ask about the reason- he has learned to be thoughtful of other's feelings around her, so he attempts to give her the same courtesy. She, however, notices how he seems to lean forward more, and that he seems to want more information. _

"_My brother died during the winter."_

* * *

**AN II: A bit of an ominous line from Orihime eh? I know there wasn't REALLY any major interaction between Orihime and Ulquiorra, but hey, other characters need some love too! :P Next update will be on Friday! Thanks for reading! (:**


	13. Can't They?

**AN: I am sooooo sorry this chapter is later than usual. TT_TT I've been super-duper busy this week, and I'm sure it'll be the same next week as well, as well as the week after that. So, I'm going to go ahead and warn everyone- soon, I will not be able to update every Wednesday and Friday. School is coming up and other things as well. However, do not fear, readers! I will _try _to update as regularly as possible! Like I said, I love updating! :D Anyhoo- please review and tell me what you guys think of this chapter! (: Much love!**

* * *

_~Flashback Continued~_

_As soon as the words escape the red-head's mouth, Ulquiorra's head begins to pound. The onna had a brother who had died during the winter…_

"_The day he left was a crisp winter morning- no snow had fallen yet, and the roads were perfectly clear. He was just going into the next town…!" She trails off, the higher note of her voice trembling in the air for a moment, and dying off there. "But that night, it started snowing. I sent word for him in the morning, to make sure he had gotten there safely but… he had never arrived, and he didn't ever come back home. Everyone in town went searching for him, but the snow was too deep and they never found him…"_

_The prince stares at her silently as she continues her story, millions of thoughts and memories running through his mind all at the same instant. Rigidly and quickly he stands, abruptly stopping the girl from speaking anymore, looking up at her with an expressionless face, though his eyes seem wider than normal and his wings seem stiffer._

"_You should not speak of such things." He manages to mutter out._

_The woman stares at him in shock, grey eyes widened faintly and mouth open just a tad, as if hung between saying something in reply or keeping silent. He looks away from her, seating himself again, refusing to meet the onna's eyes, refusing to help her speak any more on the subject- because he doesn't want to hear the theories, the thoughts on what could of happened-_

_He already knows the truth._

* * *

As the memory of the dinner slowly subsides from his mind, he pushes it away full force, attempting to block it out. He cannot have the guilt weighing on him- the blackness of his own soul- if he wants there to even be the most remote chance that the onna could break the curse. Black and white are polar opposites, just as darkness is to light, beastliness to beauty.

Sick of seeing the white snow, he flies back to his balcony, thinking only of the future.

* * *

_~That Night~ _

Nnoitra Gilga sits inside Loly and Menoly's shared room, cloaked in shadow behind the door. As the two women enter, apparently off duty for the night, he slams the door behind them, eye narrowing dangerously at the two. At first they both look shocked, but as Nnoitra steps into the light Loly gets her usual wicked gleam in her eye, and Menoly all to eagerly does the same.

"Oh look, it's Nnoitra." Loly smirks, crossing her arms. "I guess we don't have to be afraid anymore… he's too weak to actually hurt us."

It doesn't take but a second more for him to step up to the two, grabbing them wholly by the necks, lifting them up to his height.

"What are you trying to prove?" He growls in Loly's face, mouth set in a fierce scowl that only he can manage to pull off as they struggle in his hold. He tosses them both away from himself, watching as they splutter and cough violently on the ground, attempting to catch their breath. After a couple of minutes of this, he finally grows impatient, kicking Menoly out of the way, getting back in Loly's face. "What the hell do you want from me?"

Loly looks at him then, finding her words, smirking deviously.

"You value power."

"And?"

"What do you think the curse will _do_ with that power if it's broken, Nnoitra? Let you keep it?"

His eye narrows, and he wrenches the girl up by her arm, pushing her against the wall. She groans faintly in slight pain, but then begins laughing, grabbing his wrist to try and keep him from breaking her arm.

"If the curse is broken, you'll be even weaker than she's making you now. You'll be just. like. her. Human, and weak."

Nnoitra drops her then, stepping away, leaving her on the ground and staring at her with anything but friendliness or care- the most vivid emotion being hatred.

"You're such a bitch."

He turns away, glaring over at Menoly, whose holds her hands up in submission and slides herself away a little.

"I will never be weak." He growls out to the both of them. "And the next time you piss me off, consider yourselves dead."

He leaves them both to reflect on what he said.

* * *

Orihime and Nelliel both sit in their room silently, Nelliel now fully adult. Orihime sits staring out the window with a faraway look in her eyes (thinking of her brother), and Nelliel stares at the ceiling while lying back on the bed, thinking only of the roughness with which Nnoitra pushed her away. Even as an adult, the hurt in her eyes is still just as apparent as when she was a child. Both are shocked out of this stupor, however, when Nnoitra bursts in through the door, a strange look on his face, a number of emotions crossing through it all at once.

"What the hell are you two moping around for? I thought we were going to go out to see the snow!"

Nelliel's eyes light up to such a brightness that Nnoitra can't help but smile, and Orihime watches as she hops up out of the bed, gliding over to the oddly tall man. She almost laughs, however, when a thought comes to mind that doesn't really fit the pair at all- though oddly, it sort of does.

"_She's acting like he's her prince charming." _

Nnoitra glances over at her then, crossing his arms, in a bit of a huff.

"I'm sure you didn't think to ask Starrk and Lilynette to go with us yet, right?"

The sarcasm in his voice is evident, though there's a faint playfulness there that makes Orihime smile brightly.

"Nope." She replies, standing up and walking over, heading for the door.

_"Even if the snow reminds me of Sora... maybe something will change out there. New memories can override the old ones, can't they?" _

* * *

**AN II: I know this chapter was still pretty heavy like the last one, HOWEVER, don't worry! Next chapter should be very light and perhaps fluffy as well! :D Next chapter to be uploaded (hopefully) on Wednesday! (: **


	14. More Than We Thought

**AN: AN UPDATEEEE! XD I finally got the chance to write this week, and I'm so glad I did. TT_TT I've missed writing too much! Thanks for waiting patiently and reviewing you guys! (: Hope you enjoy this chappy as much as I do, and please review letting me know what you think!**

* * *

After successfully rousing Starrk from his third nap of the day, and alerting Lilynette- who had been doing Starrk's chores so he wouldn't get into any trouble with the prince- to the fact that they were heading outside (as well as grabbing Orihime a warm cloak), the group of friends exit through the front doors of the castle, Nelliel running out ahead of them. Even as an adult she looks all too excited, and then _pop_, she turns into a child and practically throws herself into a large snowdrift, completely disappearing in the white.

"Don't get lost brat!" Nnoitra jokingly calls out to Nelliel, whose head pops out a few feet away from where she had jumped in.

"You're just scaryed I wyll Nnoytra!" She calls back, sticking her tongue out, making the tall man frown (is he blushing?) and then jump in after her, only to appear as if he's running rampantly around in the snow chasing after nothing. Orihime laughs out loud at this, and Lilynette does the same. Starrk just goes and lies on a pile of snow- that is, until Lilynette notices and throws a snowball directly at his face.

Ulquiorra stands above all this, watching from his balcony with much curiosity, though it doesn't show. He doesn't understand the fascination the others have with playing around in the white mess, but honestly, he's also concernedabout Orihime and how she feels being outside in the snow. She doesn't _seem _emotionally distressed, but still, he'll have to keep a close watch out, especially since he told her…

He watches as she turns and looks up at the castle, and as she notices the balcony as well as him standing there watching. Ulquiorra is surprised to have the sudden urge to duck, as if he's somehow not supposed to have been watching her, though she doesn't seem to mind, waving at him with a smile. He doesn't respond at all.

She turns away with a shrug then, noticing and laughing at the now-angry Starrk, who is chucking snowballs back at Lilynette in his rage. She ducks when one narrowly misses her own face, and picks up some snow of her own, tossing one at Lilynette's arm, who gives a shocked look at the red-head. She smirks, breaking into a run through the yard, picking up spare snow along the way. Lilynette and Starrk glance over at each other, smirking themselves, breaking into a run after her, packing snow in their hands as they go. Nnoitra and Nelliel soon notice and join in the snowball fight as well, easily catching up to them. Ulquiorra watches as the group chases Orihime, his frown deepening, noting that the grey-eyed woman is now cornered.

"_She is a fool… she picked a fight with the other trash."_

The entire group closes in on her, and she tries to pick up some snow to defend herself, though there is little to use- she has only one snowball's worth.

"_I did not think that the onna would be so foolish as to…"_

The entire group raises their arms in unison, and Orihime gives a shriek.

"_Foolish woman!"_

It takes Ulquiorra a millisecond to land in front of her, blocking the snowballs easily with his wings. He towers above the others, killing intent fresh in his eyes, and the group looks absolutely terrified, taking a few steps back, though they know it won't help anything.

"You will not harm the onna..." He murmurs, eyes narrowing faintly, wings spreading out even more. "…or frighten her ever-"

A snowball suddenly slams into the back of Ulquiorra's head, and the entire group's eyes widen as Ulquiorra turns around to see Orihime giggling, her cheeks rosy from the cold as well as the running. His eyes are wide, and the entire group stares at the girl, getting ready to throw themselves in front of her if necessary. She, however, doesn't seem afraid at all, brushing past Ulquiorra and running again, grabbing some more snow and tossing a snowball at Ulquiorra, who dodges it easily. He glances at the others, and then immediately flies forward, so quickly it doesn't seem possible. The others do not fail to notice the claw marks in the snow where the prince had grabbed some his hand.

Orihime turns just in time to see Ulquiorra flying toward her, and she makes a quick dodge left, very narrowly being missed by the packed snow he had thrown at her. She pops out from behind a tree, laughing and throwing one at him, this time hitting him in the chest. The others just stare, bewildered at the sight. All of them see the hint of playfulness in the prince's eyes, though the expression is not even remotely viewable on his face.

"I've never seen him this way before…" Lilynette murmurs in faint awe, watching as the game continues on between the two.

"I thought he was going to kill her." Nnoitra replies bluntly, glancing at Nelliel, who is smiling knowingly. Starrk doesn't say anything, though even he looks a little surprised.

"She's chayngin' him more than we thyought." Nelliel finally murmurs, as Ulquiorra picks up a large amount of snow, preparing to throw it at her. Before he can, however, Orihime throws a snowball that hits him directly in the face, and he drops it all on himself, accidentally burying himself in the giant snowball. Orihime runs up immediately, eyes wide.

"Are you okay, Ulquiorra?" She asks, smiling when she realizes the prince is okay and digging through the snow, trying to unbury him. "I didn't think you'd drop it!"

The prince just watches her silently, eventually unburying himself, realizing that he had indeed been playing along with the woman, and was blatantly staring at her again.

"I do not have time for these silly games, onna. I thought you were afraid."

She laughs, standing on her tip-toes and helping get some of the snow out of his hair with her fingers.

"I'm not afraid of them! They're my friends! Just like you!"

He watches her in silence again, unmoving, letting her words sink in. She finishes getting the snow out of his hair moments later, stepping back and looking up at him.

"I'm really glad you let me stay here, Ulquiorra."

His eyes widen faintly, but he quickly masks his faint surprise, grunting faintly in reply to her statement. She grins a little, turning to the others, a sudden wicked smile on her face.

"Come and get me if you can!" She calls, picking up some snow and tossing it at them as she had earlier. They smile, going to chase after her again (figuring Ulquiorra is okay with it now), laughing as they do so. The prince watches as she runs off, the others following after her, wondering at what the girl had said.

"_I am… her friend." _

The prince suddenly sneezes.

* * *

**AN II: And let there be fluff! XD Next chapter to be up ASAP! (: ACHOO! xD**

**P.S. It's so weird to imagine Ulquiorra sneezing... is that just me? Haha**


	15. Spicy Chicken Soup

**AN: Well, despite my busy-ness, I've managed to write a pretty long chapter this update! XD I sort of surprised myself! By the by- to all of my reviewers who don't have accounts (making it impossible for me to reply to you) thank you so much for giving feedback! (: Everyone else- I'm also very grateful for your feedback too! Hope you enjoy, and please review with what you think of this chapter! ^-^**

* * *

_~The Next Day~_

"Oh _princess…_" An unfamiliar voice calls out from down the hall Orihime is cleaning in. She glances up to see Loly- with an unusually friendly demeanor- walking up to her with slow deliberate steps.

"W-what is it?" She asks, standing up, dust-rag in hand- she had been dusting off the baseboards.

"Ulquiorra wants you to come to his room. He has something he wants to show you." She smiles sickeningly sweet, and although every part of Orihime knows that the west wing is off limits to her- she knows she has to go. If Ulquiorra sent his personal servant for her, it must be important, right? She nods immediately, dropping the rag and heading down the hall at a moderate pace. Loly turns and watches her go, an evil smirk on her face.

"_Just kidding…! You don't have a chance of living through this mistake, princess." _

As soon as Orihime is out of sight, she walks off, awaiting the news of Orihime Inoue's death…

* * *

Orihime had never been curious about the west wing. She had known, since the day she first spoke at length with Nelliel, that the west wing was dark, dangerous, and Ulquiorra's section of the castle. Few went in, and it was only for questions that nobody else could answer- or inquiries of certain sorts (Nelliel did not specifically mention the cursed rose). So, as Orihime walks up the stairs of the west wing, she feels a great amount of hesitation in her heart.

"_But nobody would lie to me like that… and it's not impossible that Ulquiorra wanted me sent for…" _

She gulps, stepping down the long hallway toward where she assumes his room is, glancing at the ancient looking paintings of kings and queens she doesn't recognize hanging up on the wall. Decorative armored soldiers line the hall as well, rather than doors as all the other hallways have. As she steps farther inside the darkness grows, lack of windows and candles not helping the situation. A chill slowly begins to finger its way up Orihime's spine, and she crosses her arms, the hair on the back of her neck standing on edge.

"H-hello?" She calls quietly, glancing around herself, more afraid of the dark than of going to see the beast. Eventually, however, she comes to two large double doors, claw marks scratched into the wood so deep it seems that Ulquiorra couldn't have managed them. She pushes the door open quietly, her breath showing faintly in the now-even-colder air. When she steps inside the room, she is shocked to find everything in ruin. Ripped furniture is strewn across the space- the walls are broken and the paint chipped… and claw marks are _everywhere_. There seems to be no end to them. The room is almost completely dark, though the faint light from the veranda door allows her to see the outlines and minor details of the space. She takes three cautious steps further inside, looking around at the room, trying to find some sign that Ulquiorra is around, halfway afraid to speak. While doing so, she catches the glint of glowing green eyes- the beautiful emerald color shining brightly even in the dim light.

"U-ulquiorra…?" She whispers, stepping toward him. She knows his eyes have always been golden- but the shape of the eyes are so similar…

The prince does not stir, and it takes only a few moments longer for her to realize that it is not the prince standing there, but a painting glaring at her from the wall. The face is ripped to shreds, but she can easily see the eyes- such a beautiful green color…

She turns at the sound of a large thump, and her eyes widen at the sight of the beast, halfway collapsing against a small table with a beautiful glowing rose on top. That does not keep her attention long, though.

"Get out…!" He speaks callously, attempting to move forward but failing miserably.

She doesn't move, too shocked to see the prince in such a state of disarray. His wings droop low to the ground, dragging behind him, and his tail does the same. His skin looks even paler than usual- it almost seems paper white- and the exposed skin on his face and chest seems to have a light sheen to it- sweat. He begins to collapse forward, unable to keep himself standing anymore.

"Ulquiorra!" She runs forward immediately, registering without fear that the prince is ill, catching him as he falls forward into her. She holds him up as best she can, surprised at how heavy he is, eventually crumpling to the ground with his almost unconscious form lying on the ground beside her.

"Ulquiorra…?" She asks, eyes wide, heart thumping wildly in her chest.

"Leave." He speaks again, pushing himself from the ground.

"But you're sick…! You're so warm… you have a fever!" She exclaims, moving to touch his forehead.

"Do not touch me!" He mutters emotionlessly (though by the strain in his voice she knows he's exclaiming), grabbing her arm and pushing her a good distance away from himself, scratching her arm faintly deep in the process. She doesn't flinch, however, and only stands, immediately running from the room to get help. The prince blacks out to the sound of her saying someone's name…

* * *

The prince wakes up in a bed- covered completely with thick blankets. A cold sensation touches his forehead, and his eyes open only to meet those of the onna.

"You're awake…" She smiles suddenly, moving the snow dipped rag away from his head. "It's a good thing I came in when I did- the fever was only getting worse. I didn't think a cold would be so difficult for you to handle!"

He blinks a few times (something he rarely does), registering that he really is ill. Of course, he had assumed that was the reason for his sudden weakness, but he hadn't been sick since the curse started- he was not usually affected by cold or human sickness. It's impossible…

She places the cold rag back to his head after dipping it back into the bowl of snow-filled water, ignoring the faint jerk away given in response. She stays silent, then, humming to herself as she continues to repeat the process- the rag gets warm, she dips it back in the water, and then rings it out. Eventually, he understands that she is there to take care of him.

"I do not ask for your help, woman."

"But you needed it." She replies quickly, placing the rag back on his head gently. "I couldn't have left you there anyway. My heart wouldn't have let me."

He frowns deeply at that word, and she notices, looking away from him and setting the bowl on the bedside table, embarrassed.

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Guess I'm not used to having to worry about that."

He scoffs faintly.

"I do not feel, onna."

She laughs faintly at this, taking the rag off of his head carefully, placing it back in the bowl.

"You know what I think? I think you feel a lot more than the rest of us- even Nelliel. But the hole in your chest just doesn't let it reach you. Either way, though, it doesn't matter. I like you just the way you are. You gave me a chance to live a fairytale… and make so many new friends." She smiles brightly, and a rapid electric sensation shoots through him, like a lightning bolt. "This is more of a home than I ever had back at the village. I have people that care about me, and people I care about here too."

He watches as she stands up, unsure how to reply, for the first time noticing the long bandages wrapped around her arm.

"I injured you." He states. "You are not afraid of me, onna?"

She looks down at her arm, surprised, and then waves it off.

"You weren't feeling good. I understand!" She smiles, gently loosening the blankets, trying to make him more comfortable. "I've had worse than this happen to me on my own!"

Silence overtakes the room once she finishes her sentence, and she gently shifts the pillow behind his head, fluffing it. He thinks about his words for a moment, and then he turns his head to look at her, at the girl who is helping him despite the injury he gave her, at the girl who stays beside him no matter how callously he speaks to her- it scares him, really- she makes it seem so simple to be bright and to feel…

"You make me question everything about myself, woman."

She stops then, freezing, eyes wide. Her heart skips in her chest, and a rush of multiple emotions run through her- embarrassment, confusion, and shock. For a moment they linger there, and she stands up straight, slowly, her frozen expression slowly changing to one of a faint smile. Before she can say anything, however, the door bursts open, and a very happy group of Orihime's friends rush into the room, carrying extra blankets, rags, as well as hot soup (she had sent them to gather all of it about five minutes before the prince woke, since she was the only one that knew what to do for someone sick).

"Orihime! We brought the stuff you asked for!" Nelliel says in her singsong voice- though it sounds a little different with her as an adult. Nnoitra steps up with the soup, frowning deeply (Yammy had gotten into a slight spat with him about what to put into the mix, since Orihime told him to put some of the spicy red sauce in it) not in a very happy-singsongy mood at all.

Orihime glances down at Ulquiorra, taking a bowl of soup from Nnoitra's hand.

"Spicy chicken soup!" She grins, sitting down on the bed beside the prince. He notes with great revulsion the peppery smell of the stuff (despite his stuffed nose), and looks up at Nnoitra and Nelliel, who immediately realize that he's giving them a death glare. They both take a step back, laughing uneasily, and Orihime takes the spoon, preparing to help feed him.

"This'll make you feel a lot better!" She says brightly.

He highly doubts it.

* * *

**AN II: Poor Ulquiorra. XD I put him through so much in one chapter! :P But anyways, next update to be uploaded as soon as I have time to write it! (: Much love to all of you! Thanks for the patience!**


	16. Another Two and Nicknames

**AN: Muhahaha! An update has arrived! And it's fluffy too! (; Thank you guys for all of the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D**

* * *

_~Two Days Later~_

Nelliel silently walks through the long hallway that is the west wing, a nervous aura surrounding her body. She had realized earlier in the day that nobody had checked on the rose for quite some time- she herself had been cut off from entering the room when Orihime ran out in hysterics, and then had been so distracted helping with the sickly Ulquiorra that she hadn't even so much as glanced at the enchanted thing.

"_Come to think of it… Orihime could've seen it. But she hasn't asked any questions…"_

She glances up at the two large claw-marked doors looming in front of her, frowning to herself. She remembers the day that those claw marks first appeared- Ulquiorra had been horrified, then, at his appearance, and then all of a sudden he grew cold. No emotion, no feeling- he had become an entirely different person- a beast in the truest way. Of course, he had never been kind or loving, but at times, it's difficult for her or the others to remember those days without fondness. At least then he seemed remotely human.

She gently pushes open the door, closing it behind her with a loud creak of the rusted joints. It doesn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the light, and the bright glow of the now-closer-to-death rose draws her in immediately. Two new dead petals lie beside the others, and for a heart stopping moment she remembers how close it is to the prince's twenty-first birthday. December 1st- that is the day the curse will become permanent. She steps up to the rose slowly, heart thumping so loud in the silence of the room that it hardly lets her think.

"_We don't have much time anymore…"_

She touches the glass surrounding the rose gently, tracing her fingers over three claw marks left by, she can only assume, Ulquiorra. She finds herself turning away then, remembering that she does not belong in this room, empty or not. Her heart jumps faintly when she sees the ripped up portrait on the wall- she had honestly forgotten what color the prince's eyes had been, the striking green color of his eyes truly nostalgic. Her stomach drops faintly at the thought of never seeing those eyes again- never seeing Nnoitra without his eye patch or Starrk at least halfway awake, or never seeing her human face again when she looks in a mirror. Her eyes widen, and with sudden conviction she runs from the room- hell-bent on giving Ulquiorra the final push he needs to finally admit his feelings for Orihime.

It's time to have a long talk with her friends.

* * *

Ulquiorra wakes up to the feeling of pressure near his feet. His eyes shoot open, and he sits up immediately, a very uncomfortable amount of sweat on his skin- his fever obviously broken. He glances down at the space on the bed that seems different, and notices with faint curiosity the sleeping Orihime at his feet.

"_Onna…" _

For a moment he stares blankly at the woman, unsure on whether or not to wake her or leave her there. Considering he's in no dire need of assistance (though even if he were he would never admit it to her), he decides to leave her be, resolving to give her a break after so long without sleep. He glances around the room, noting the bowl filled with water and a rag, as well as three empty bowls from his spicy chicken soup (from hell) the day before. He concludes easily that nobody had been there to help her all night- either that or she told them all to rest rather than stay with her.

He suddenly remembers the day before, a deep frown overcoming his face. His fever had fluctuated greatly, his throat had been rawer than he had ever felt it, and his nose had been so stuffy that even the soup couldn't clear it up, as it had the day before. It had been a terrible day- horrible really- except for…

He stops himself, glancing down at the sleeping girl once more. Except for her. She had been by his side the entirety of the day- only for meals and short breaks did she leave, and even those were rare.

The woman stirs in her sleep slightly, and he freezes, noting the peaceful look on her face, wondering to himself what she is dreaming. She looks beautiful, as he had observed back when he had carried her to her room…

He abruptly remembers the conversation they had had the day before.

* * *

"_Do you know any stories, Ulquiorra?"_ _Orihime asks curiously, holding another spoon full of chicken soup out for him to eat. He takes it ruefully, the heat not only coming from the fire it had been cooked on, but from the torrent of spice mixed in with it._

"_I have no time for stories, woman." He replies, eyes narrowing faintly, his mouth burning uncontrollably. _

_She frowns a bit; putting the soup down, having noticed the green look on Ulquiorra's face- she had grown accustomed to his faint face changes, as the other servants had. It hadn't taken her long._

"_But stories are interesting! I worked at this book shop back when I lived in the village, and there were all kinds of weird things to read! I even found a book with ideas for nicknames!" Her eyes light up at the mention of the bookstore, and he remembers internally the giant library that has been locked up since the curse began. The mention of nicknames, however, grabs his attention immediately, turning it away from thoughts of the library._

"_Nicknames?" He questions, interested despite his highly uninterested expression. _

"_Mhm!" She replies, noting the faintly bewildered look on his face, realizing she has to explain. "They're like… separate names. Names that are more personal, and usually given to you by someone else. Just like my brother- he would call me "Hime" all the time… even if I didn't like it much." Her eyes cloud over faintly, and he immediately tries to get her mind off the subject, and make her happier all at the same time- even if he doesn't understand the emotion well._

"_Of course not. It is a ridiculous name," He replies, leaning back in the pillows more comfortably than before. He doesn't realize how shocked the woman looks at this reply, and continues. "It does not fit you correctly." _

"_Then what would you call me?" She asks suddenly, eyes narrowed, faintly pouty. Even if she didn't like the nickname, she disliked Ulquiorra talking down on it- since it came from her brother…_

_The prince's eyes widen faintly in reply to this question, and he eventually looks away from her and out the window instead. After a few moments of growing silence, she finally becomes irritated enough to begin gathering the bowl of soup and other dirty supplies, heading for the door. Before she can leave, however, his voice stops her. _

"_Belle," He states, knowing full well the meaning of the name. _

_She turns around immediately, eyes widened faintly. He still isn't looking at her, and his eyes are now completely closed, the long tear streaks tattooed on his face making him look quite melancholy. For a moment she stays there, watching him silently, and then she smiles to herself, coming to the realization that he had just indirectly complimented her. _

"_He called me beautiful…" _

_The prince eventually chances a hesitant sidelong glance at her, only to find her soft smile turned into a wicked grin, and her eyes sparkling playfully._

"_I'd call you Beast."_

* * *

**AN II: I like having them mess with each other- I really do. XD ANYHOO- thanks for reading! I'll update again as soon as I have another chapter for you guys! (: Hope this wasn't too long of a wait! XD **


	17. December the First

**AN: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. I've broken 100 reviews now, and I'm still in shock! XD (I almost had a heart attack when I saw 111 there!) I'm so glad to hear so much feedback from everyone- it really warms my heart to read your reviews! (: Thank you all very, VERY much! **

**Now, as for the chapter, I will warn you, this one *gasp* doesn't have any Ulquiorra or Orihime in it... but it has a lot to do with the main plot! (And it has a bit of NnoitraxNelliel in there too!) :P Hope you enjoy, next chapter should be up pretty soon, I've been working hard on it! Much love to all of you! (Pretend I put a heart there, it won't show the less than sign ):)**

* * *

Nelliel runs down the hallways quickly, heart still drumming in her chest at a rapid rate she isn't used to. If it weren't for the feeling of complete dread overshadowing everything, she would've already turned into a child. She happens to run past Nnoitra's door without noticing that he's exiting, and his eye widens faintly as she does so. He immediately follows after her.

"Nel! What the hell's wrong?" He calls, catching her attention.

She turns on her heel immediately, breathing hard, her golden eyes so filled with fear and panic that Nnoitra stops abruptly when he sees them.

"Nel…?" He questions quietly, eyeing her silently. Tears are caught in the corners of her eyes, and she immediately runs at him, slamming into his chest and wrapping her arms around him. He starts to back up and push her off, but when he remembers the look on her face moments before he gives in, allowing her to touch him, at least this once.

"What's wrong?" He asks quietly, repeating his question from before. His arms hang limply at his sides, but she tightens her hold on him, sniffling loudly. He becomes frustrated, and asks again. "What the hell is your problem Nel?!"

"Two more!" She chokes out, letting go of him, looking up at him and wiping her eyes. His faintly confused expression turns to one of shock, and he takes a step back.

"The rose?" He asks, becoming angry when she doesn't answer immediately, yelling at her. "Another two?!"

She nods, clenching her fists at his screaming, looking down. He begins panicking himself, his own heart-rate picking up to the point of faint pain in his chest. He pushes past her , figuring she'll follow if she cares enough, heading for Starrk's room. It doesn't take long, and when he reaches the door he slams it open, making sure to make enough noise for it to wake the likely sleeping man. Starrk glares at Nnoitra groggily from his mass of pillows, and Lilynette looks up from her lunch bowl.

"Is something wrong with Ulquiorra?" Lilynette immediately questions, standing up, concerned.

"No, but the rose isn't doing too great." He snaps, Nelliel peeking her head in from behind him, eyes still worried. "Two more have fallen."

Starrk groans faintly, standing up slowly and dusting off his pants.

"And you woke me up for that? He mutters out after a few moments, strangely calm. Lilynette almost looks relieved.

"Of course I woke you up! What the hell are you two so calm about?" He growls in a rage, Nelliel staying silent, but looking confused.

"Orihime and Ulquiorra are closer. We have plenty of time… they're falling in love, and we _all _see it." Lilynette replies easily, taking another sip of her soup. Nelliel, in the pause between Nnoitra's screaming, steps deeper into the room, voicing something she knows they'll recognize.

"December 1st."

"What about it?" Starrk asks, crossing his arms.

"It will be the prince's twenty-first birthday," Lilynette suddenly realizes, eyes widening faintly. Nnoitra grunts in agreement, and Starrk glances between the three, sighing a little.

"Well, what the hell can we do?" He asks, frowning deeply.

"That's what we need to figure out." Nelliel murmurs, twirling some of her blue-green hair around her index finger in nervousness. "The curse will be permanent if he doesn't admit that he cares about her by then, and we can only assume that the petals will fall faster as the dates get closer…"

A silence overtakes the room, and after a moment, Nnoitra glances between the other three as Starrk had earlier. Then, with an irritated sigh, he mutters out an answer.

"It's been a while, but weren't there ways for a man to court a woman? A nice dinner, then dancing- something like that?" He looks away from them all when they give him a look, faintly embarrassed. They all know he hadn't been the purest individual in the castle when the curse overtook it- he's always been known for having been with many women.

"You would know a lot about courting, wouldn't you?" Lilynette murmurs sarcastically, crossing her arms. Despite being acquaintances recently, Nnoitra had never gotten along very well with the young girl. His frown deepens, and he doesn't look back at her, not denying his own personality. Nelliel snaps at the girl immediately.

"He's the only one that's come up with anything, so leave him alone."

Starrk frowns a bit, shrugging after another pregnant pause, knowing that once he says what he's thinking that Lilynette will be angry at him.

"I think he's right," He murmurs, Lilynette immediately looking over, eyes mirroring betrayal. Starrk ignores it, continuing. "You've heard her talk about fairytales and books before: maybe she needs a fairytale evening with Mr. Sunshine to make her fall for him."

Nelliel grins faintly at his nickname for the prince, nodding in agreement. Nnoitra nods as well, and eventually Lilynette does too.

"Who wants to ask Ulquiorra about it then?" She asks.

Unsurprisingly, nobody jumps at the opportunity.

* * *

_~That Night~_

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez wanders aimlessly through the forest, knowing what he's looking for but unsure how to find it. It had been quite a while since he had been out here, and the snow only makes it twice as disorienting as normal. He draws his cloak tightly around himself, his breath showing as fog in front of his lips, attempting to walk toward an outline of a thick tree that may be hollow. He almost staggers when he finds a short step down that he hadn't been expecting, and accidentally sinks his boot into some wet snow.

"Shit!"

He manages to free it quickly enough to where the snow doesn't completely soak in, and pulls himself toward the tree, only to be sadly disappointed that it's quite solid. Even if he dug into the snow for some time, he's sure he wouldn't find anywhere to sleep for the night. There's nothing here to keep him alive, nothing except himself and the few small animals he manages to kill with his hunting bow when he gets the chance. Regardless, he presses on- forcing himself into survival mode, willing his own heart to keep beating. He refuses to die out here.

He leans against the tree wearily, sliding down and seating himself on a rock that isn't too covered with snow. He leans his back against the tree and thinks of who he's looking for- _his _woman, _his _fiancé, _his _soon to be wife. Damn it all, nobody is going to take her from him- nothing is going to stop him from finding the girl that _belongs_ to him. He remembers very clearly what he had told her all too long ago…

"_I'll be damned if anybody takes you from me. You're gonna be my wife one day Orihime Inoue. You just wait and see."_

He fully intends to keep that promise.

* * *

**AN II: And a bit of Grimmjow in there, for any of you who may have been wondering what happened to him! :P As I said before, next chapter should be up soon! Thank you all for your wonderful patience! :D**


	18. Tale as Old as Time

**AN: FINALLY, THE CHAPTER YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR... THE BALLROOM SCENE! :D XD It's definitely the longest chapter I've written so far (six pages long), and honestly, it could've been longer- I've essentially made this chapter 2 parts, because it would've been RIDICULOUSLY long otherwise! ANYWAY- I hope you enjoy, I'm sorry it took so long to update, and please leave me a review with what you think! (: **

* * *

_~1 Week Later~_

Needless to say, it did not take Ulquiorra long to be convinced to have the "date night" once he got well (Ulquiorra would never call it that, but regardless)- Nnoitra and Nelliel had both easily convinced him to go along with the idea. They would be dressed up, there would be a dinner, and dancing. Ulquiorra himself even came up with an idea for the night, though it ended up being very low-key, since the prince wanted it to be a surprise for the onna.

Currently, Ulquiorra stands in front of a three way mirror, staring at his reflection silently. Nnoitra and Starrk both stand behind him, having helped him with getting ready (as Lilynette and Nelliel are doing for Orihime). Ulquiorra wears a deep green jacket laced with gold, his wings folded underneath it, tail tucked into his tan trousers. Strangely enough (other than the horns and claws for hands and feet) he looks almost human. Nnoitra steps up behind him silently, fixing his collar.

"The dinner has been prepared?" Ulquiorra frowns, glancing up at the abnormally large Nnoitra.

"Yeah yeah… we got it all worked out for you. Fish with yellow sauce, cake with red. Yammy worked like hell to remember how to make that yellow crap…" He moves his hands away, stepping back. "Are you at least a little comfortable? Won't do any good to have you looking like a stick's shoved up your ass the entire night… you have to be able to move enough to dance-"

"Nnoitra, he gets the point." Starrk cuts in, having woken up from his nap on the red plush chair in the room. "He knows what he has to do- he's been around her more than us recently."

The prince glances over in Starrk's general direction when he says this, knowing how true the statement is. The week had been a long one- but a good type of long. She'd asked him timidly if she could at least put up a tree for Christmas (after he got better), though it ended up with the entire castle being decorated and four trees being put up- one for her and Nelliel's room, one for Starrk and Lilynette's, one for Nnoitra's, and one for the entry hall. He didn't mind it, really, since the castle hadn't celebrated Christmas since the curse had been cast- and it made her happy. He had spent the greater part of the week helping her, and everyone had been excited about how quickly their relationship had grown to be comfortable- minus Menoly and Loly of course.

Ulquiorra turns out of his train of thought to hear Nnoitra finish his screaming match with Starrk (apparently the slimy man had been irritated by the bluntness of the other), though he ignores it. Nothing matters except for her tonight- and despite his lack of a heart, he feels faint anxiousness and hesitation. He hadn't courted a woman for years- and he hadn't ever been very good at it, at that… even as a human, he didn't understand how to use his heart. The enchantress had that right about him that night- he couldn't deny it then, and can't deny it even now….

Nelliel suddenly bursts into the room (apparently not worried about Ulquiorra's state of dress), eyes alight with excitement.

"She's ready!"

* * *

As Orihime steps into view at the top of the entryway stairs, Ulquiorra's demeanor immediately changes. He had been calm and cool while waiting for her- stony as the statues throughout the castle- but now, he feels his mask chipping away. He's never seen her look so beautiful. She wears a long, floor-length black and white ball gown adorned with roses, and her hair is pulled up with a pearl pin. Her cheeks are flushing faintly, and her lips look full and beautiful- especially since they're curved up into a smile.

Orihime, as she first sees the prince, notices that he's quite handsome as well- though her mind suddenly turns to what her brother had once told her when she was probably no older than five years old- a boy she had a crush on had called her ugly, and while she was crying in his lap, he murmured:

'_Don't cry 'Hime… if he said that about you, he's just not your prince charming! But you don't have to worry- just remember, one day, somehow, some way, you'll find him. He may be the person you least expect- but he'll see your true beauty, and love you just as much as I do…'_

Orihime gulps down the burning sensation in her throat, watching as the prince holds out his hand for her on the last step, and then taking it gently.

"You are beautiful, onna." He murmurs, his voice as monotone as ever- though Orihime hears the faint inflection in it that she's come to understand. She flushes faintly, the tears willing themselves away, her heart thumping wildly in her chest with excitement. He let's go of her hand but then holds out his arm for her, and she takes it easily, following where he's leading her.

"Thank you." Orihime suddenly murmurs, eyes widening, realizing that she never thanked him for his compliment, having been too enraptured with what her brother had said, and how strange it was for her to think of it right then.

"It is the truth." Is all Ulquiorra replies, unoffended. She flushes once more, looking down, a quiet growing between the two- though it is a comfortable one- and as this happens they both come to realize how odd it had been for them to feel anxious… because it seems so natural for them to be this way- side by side, even in silence.

With a gentler demeanor, the prince leads Orihime to the dining room.

* * *

"Close your eyes." The prince murmurs to Orihime after dinner, stepping in front of her and gently taking her hands, leading them to cover her eyes. Orihime looks confused and begins to pull them away, but with a mild firmness he keeps her from doing so. "It is a surprise."

She listens to him then, flushing faintly, thinking of the many times in books that a situation like this has turned to a kiss. She turns even redder as an image of Ulquiorra kissing her pops into her head, recoiling internally as he leads her through the hallways of the castle, his hand rested on her back. She had never thought of anything like that involving the prince and herself- but even more startling to her is the fact that the thought doesn't really seem all that revolting. He had changed a lot since she had first met him- and at the dinner it had seemed so easy to eat beside him, and all she could think about was what her brother had said before… she becomes more and more unsure as she thinks about it in greater detail, her heart soon beating quite rapidly. Eventually, however, the prince comes to stand in front of her again, and gently takes her wrists in his hand.

"Look."

He gently pulls her hands away, and immediately her eyes widen a great amount. Around her are shelves that reach to a vaulted ceiling, filled to the brim with books of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Her heart begins to beat faster from excitement rather than confusion then, her bewilderment about the prince slowly melting to the back of her mind.

"There's so many…" She whispers in awe, letting go of his hands and backing away from him, slowly taking the room in. She's never seen anything like this- never seen so many books in one place and so well kept-

"You may come here whenever you like." The prince murmurs as he watches her. "The room belongs to you."

She immediately tears her gaze away from the room and comes to focus on him again, eyes suddenly going a bit teary.

"You… really? I…" She trails off, unsure what to say, watching as the prince steps up to her once more and takes her hands. "Why would you do this?"

"You have mentioned stories to me before, as well as to the others. Your comfort here is my responsibility- and I take satisfaction in knowing you will have a place to go when I am not by your side."

Her cheeks flush faintly again, and she looks away for a moment, suddenly very aware of how close she is to the prince. A book catches her eye, and she turns back to him, smiling.

"Only if you let me read to you sometimes too." She murmurs kindly.

After a few moments of him studying her face, he grunts in agreement, nodding faintly. Orihime immediately smirks.

"Good, because I already know the first thing I want to read to you."

"It is unsurprising." He replies quickly. She laughs at this, and she takes his arm when he offers it to her. Realizing he's taking her somewhere else, she glances at him in confusion.

"There's more?"

A faint spark of smugness flashes through his eyes, and he deliberately leaves her guessing, leading her down the halls without another word.

* * *

Nelliel and Nnoitra both stand inside the ballroom, watching as the Beast and Orihime enter. Nnoitra looks a bit surprised at how beautiful Orihime looks, and glances over at the green haired girl with a look on his face that says "not bad." Nelliel smirks to herself, crossing her arms, though a little surprised herself at how handsome the prince looks.

"_We didn't do too badly after all…" _They both think at the same time.

Ulquiorra leads Orihime to the center of the ballroom carefully, and when he turns to face her he realizes how extremely distressed the woman looks. She seems very nervous as she looks up at him, and he immediately calls it to attention.

"You are nervous, woman?"

She halfway jumps at the sound of his voice, and Nnoitra motions for the two servants waiting to begin playing their respective instruments (violin and piano). Orihime looks even more worried then, and she bites her lip softly.

"I… I've never been a good dancer…" She mutters out nervously, wringing her hands faintly. The prince seems un-bothered by this, however, and he gently takes her hand, resting his other on her hip, pulling her just a fraction closer. She glances up at him in anxiousness, but his cool stare seems to calm her down.

"You have never had a good partner, then." He replies to her look, and with a very careful movement, begins the dance.

At first it does seem faintly awkward- but he understands, and eventually the woman is just as good a dancer as any, following him with no trouble at all. As her step becomes more sure, he moves a little more quickly, and dares to let her twirl out every great once in a while. She seems to enjoy it greatly, and eventually her look of fear becomes one of enjoyment, and his eyes are alight with amusement, though his face doesn't show it at all.

In time, the song fades away, ending, but the dance continues, the twirl of black, white, and green soon becoming mixed with quiet conversation and laughter. The pair could care less about the music as they go, and the dance only becomes more intimate, until it eventually becomes a slow one, with Orihime's head rested against his chest.

"I never thought it would be so easy to dance..." Orihime murmurs softly, her eyes closing. The prince is unsure what to say, though his eyes widen faintly, and he looks down a little, trying to voice the immediate rush of feelings going through him- he _knows _that he's feeling, he knows what the emotion is, that she's slowly chipped away and weakened the curse over the course of the evening to the point where even emotion is reaching him again.

His hollow hole slowly begins to pulsate, and he stops, Orihime lifting her head from his chest and looking up at him.

"Onna…" The prince whispers, his cold monotone voice still emotionless, even though the feeling is rushing through his entire body like an arrow cutting through air. He leans forward slightly, unsure at what he's doing but knowing nothing else to do, and her eyes widen in shock, though they slowly begin to close- as if she's accepting what's happening with no hesitance at all-

"Ulquiorra!"

The voice of Lilynette interrupts the moment and shatters anything that could've been moments before, her breathless and confused voice shocking even Nelliel and Nnoitra, who have been completely engrossed with the prince and Orihime. Immediately the feeling washes over all of the castle's cursed inhabitants in the room- the presence of some person getting close to the castle pushing in through their nerves like a live wire. Orihime can only look confused as all of the faces of those in the room turn pale, oblivious to the abilities of the others.

"W-what's wrong?" She asks immediately, letting go of the prince's arm and rushing over to Lilynette, who has not torn her gaze from Ulquiorra.

They know the presence.

Ulquiorra's wings rip through the jacket with a terrible sound, and he flies forward, leaving all of them in the room. Orihime, however, immediately follows, grasping her dress in her hands and running after him. He's far ahead of her by now, but she's able to keep up enough to see him turn corners- leading her straight to the west wing. The voices of her friends call after her from behind, but she continues pushing on, somehow afraid of whatever the prince seems so distressed about- only moments ago everything had been so calm…

She runs through the open claw-marked doors leading into his room, and steps up behind him as soon as she sees him looking into a mirror.

"Ulquiorra…?" She asks in a daze, stepping toward the frozen-looking prince. She becomes interested in the mirror and what he's looking at, following his gaze until she can make out whatever he's glaring at with such coldness- and what she sees makes her blood run cold. The others run in behind her, and stop when they see the expression on her face.

"Grimmjow…" Her voice trembles in horror, watching as the large and almost-dead man falls down into the snow after mouthing her name, showing no sign of ever getting back up. The terrified voice of Orihime rips through to the prince, and he looks up in time to watch the first three tears slip down her cheeks and soak into the gloves on her hands as she covers her mouth. Eventually her hands fall, and her face is pale, as if she's seen a ghost.

"He's… he's dying… and it's all because of me!" She suddenly sobs.

* * *

**AN II: I know, I know, I left you guys on a cliff-hanger, but hey, it'll make the next chapter even better! (: I am going to warn you guys, my life is about to pick up the pace majorly, so if the updates don't come as often, don't fret! I'm going to attempt still doing two updates a week, but I can't make any promises... so I'm sorry. ): But I will try! Thanks for reading, and I hope the chapter was everything you guys have been looking forward to! Much love!**


	19. Despair

**AN: Wowwww the gap between this update and last update seemed SO long to me... I'm so sorry guys, I'm sure it seemed just as long to you! This is a pretty big chapter though, so hopefully that will make up for the wait! This one is a direct continuation of the previous chapter, and it's another pretty long one... so YAY! I'm really happy to update today, and I hope you enjoy! Thanks for all of your feedback about the previous chapter, and I hope to hear from you about this one too! (:**

* * *

The sobbing Orihime drops to her knees, crossing her arms over her stomach, body wracking with tears. Ulquiorra can only watch as she does so, with a deep pain surging through his body. Her tears drop onto the stone floor, and Nelliel drops to her knees beside her, trying (in vain) to comfort the weeping girl. Lilynette looks away, and Nnoitra's face goes stony, all of them registering that things have definitely changed from moments before- the evening is ruined, all they planned for useless…

"You want to save him." The prince murmurs to the girl- stating, not questioning. The red-head immediately looks up, as do the others, and Ulquiorra studies her face for a moment, as if trying to memorize every piece of her before he says what he's about to…

"Go."

Nelliel immediately stands up, eyes wide, Nnoitra tenses, and Lilynette turns, surprise taking over all of their features.

"What…?" Orihime asks, eyes filled with shock, though the tears continue to fall. The prince looks away, another surge of emotion passing through him with great force.

"You wish to save him… and I know that your heart will give you no other choice." He replies, his voice more hollow and empty than ever before. Nnoitra growls suddenly.

"Are you crazy?! She'll never be able to-"

Ulquiorra breaks off his sentence with a sudden sidelong glare, and Nnoitra knows with abrupt terror that the prince has made up his mind, regardless of anything they now say or do. The beast steps up to Orihime silently, holding out his hand for her, his wings blocking out part of the moon. The shadow it causes covers almost her entire face, leaving only her tear-filled eyes illuminated. She takes his hand, and he helps her up, taking her other hand in his, looking at her with one emotion in his eyes- loneliness.

"Lilynette." Ulquiorra murmurs, glancing over at the door. "Get her a cloak."

The young girl immediately nods, leaving the room, and he looks back into the woman's eyes for only a second more before turning away, letting her hands go. She understands immediately, and with a faint whimper runs from the room, going to change out of the ball gown. Ulquiorra looks down at the rose, and after a deep and lasting silence, looks out the veranda doors at the brewing snowstorm covering the sky. Nnoitra, with a deep throated growl, runs from the room himself after all this, black-hearted passion running through his veins.

"You… you let her go…" Nelliel whispers after a few moments more of silence, her heart trembling with the sudden realization that the curse is as good as permanent. She looks up at the prince, eyes filling with tears, heart pounding in her chest. "You let her go… and with him, of all people!"

"I do not know this emotion." The prince murmurs suddenly, not having heard what she said- too deep in thought. He looks up as the clear and bright moon is covered with dark cloud. "Though, I suppose it is similar to what I felt the night the curse was cast."

Nelliel looks up at the silhouette of the prince, watching as the jacket he ripped apart with his wings finally falls into three pieces on the floor. The hole in his chest is completely visible.

"I believe the onna would refer to it as… despair."

* * *

Wolves.

The peace-shattering, fear inducing, terrifying sound of howling echoes through the trees behind Orihime, only making her run faster than before, terror and adrenaline rushing through every part of her body. She hadn't thought of them when she left- hadn't remembered the wolves chasing her through the forest before, injuring her to the point of not being able to leave the castle. She hadn't thought of any of it- and now, as she sprints through the forest, she wonders what will become of herself. She doesn't know how she'll survive now that they're chasing her- even if she climbed up a tree they'd wait until she'd be forced to come down- and she doesn't know how she'll find Grimmjow in the mess of dark forest and snowstorm either. She leans against a tree momentarily, attempting to pull oxygen into her lungs, failing miserably. The thin air is only making everything more difficult, and the small break she's taking isn't helping anything… it only makes her chest and sides hurt, and she knows she won't last long if the pain gets worse…

Another howl pierces the night air, this time much closer to her than before, and it is enough to push her to running again, the sound more terrifying the second time than the first.

She glances to her side after a while of running, catching quick movement in her peripherals, eyes widening when she meets the glowing pair of a ravenous wolf's on a ledge above her. She realizes suddenly that behind they're already on her heels, and she's sure there's some in front too. Her heart drops, and before she can even think of finding a way to escape, she trips over a very solid root in the ground. She lands sprawled forward in the snow, and she pushes herself up quickly, only to see the passed out Grimmjow lying in front of her. She freezes.

"Grimmjow!" She calls immediately, eyes lighting up with a relief that can't be explained. For a moment, the terror seems gone, but the wolves growl and stop behind her, hackles raised. She remembers the panic around her abruptly, crawling closer to him quickly, trying to wake him.

"Grimmjow, wake up… please…!"

He moves faintly, and the wolves move in closer, preparing to lunge. She grabs the hunting knife she sees attached to his belt immediately, turning and holding it up, praying that she'll be able to protect herself.

"Ori…him..e…" The broken voiced Grimmjow whispers, trying to push himself up without any luck.

"Grimmjow get up!" She screams, the first wolf lunging at her- only to be thrown backward immediately by the beast, who lands protectively in front of her. Orihime's eyes widen when she sees him- he looks more deadly than ever, his claws gleaming faintly, wings outstretched tensely. The wolves immediately back away, though still growling, and the prince keeps his back turned to her, waiting for one of them to move again.

"Orihime…" Grimmjow moans again, glancing up at her from the snow, power slowly returning to his limbs. She quickly takes his face in her hands, forcing him to look up at her.

"Get up. We've got to get out of here, now!" She cries frantically, glancing behind her at the prince, who does not say a word. Grimmjow, groggy and half-freezing, catches the blurry image of Ulquiorra standing there. His eyes immediately widen, thinking that he's the danger, though Orihime forces him back into focus. "The wolves! Hurry!"

She helps him up, putting his arm over her shoulder, though he somehow manages to find enough strength to hold himself up mostly on his own. As they stalk off into the woods quickly, Orihime looks back, only to see the prince fighting off the now very angry pack of wolves. Knowing he wouldn't want her to interfere, she pushes on- knowing nothing else she can do. Halfway there, Grimmjow passes out again, and she drags him the rest of the way back to her forgotten home.

* * *

_~Later~_

The prince walks up the drawbridge of his castle, bloody gashes and bites covering his body- eyes filled with killing intent. Nelliel, Nnoitra, Starrk, and Lilynette stand outside the door, eyes wide, one pair filled with guilt.

"Starrk." The prince addresses, walking with no sign of stopping, voice monotone, though undernoted with threat. "Why were your wolves out in the forest tonight?"

Starrk's eyes widen at being addressed, and he watches as a bit of blood drips from the prince's claw, staining the snow on the drawbridge. When the beast doesn't receive an answer, he grabs Starrk by the throat and hurls him backward, the usually sleepy man's body splitting the wood of the large entryway door. Ulquiorra does not stop there, stepping toward Starrk slowly, though Lilynette immediately rushes up to the prince, grabbing his arm.

"It wasn't Starrk's fault! Nnoitra told him she had run off with the rose…!"

The prince throws the girl off roughly, but immediately changes course, eyes meeting Nnoitra's terrified gaze with no mercy or emotion. The slimy man immediately turns to look at Nelliel, whose hazel eyes are filled with tears as she backs away from him slowly.

He realizes with sudden throbbing in his chest that she won't understand why he did what he did- or forgive him for it- and he turns back to the prince just in time to see the beast's right claw impaling him through the abdomen.

* * *

Orihime sits beside her old bed, the sick Grimmjow lying in it under all of the blankets she could find. The house had been emptied out- everyone in the village had assumed she was dead- but when she came into town screaming about a sick Grimmjow, they immediately rushed to help, confused but happy to see her alive. After a quick excuse that she "had been visiting relatives a few towns over" they didn't question much about where she had been. Luckily, nobody had bought her land yet, as a few legends had already popped up about her disappearance- ridiculous and fabricated tales about why she would have disappeared so suddenly. Most of them involved the spirit of her dead brother- which made her uncomfortable- and one of them made her small cottage out to be haunted by both she and her brother's spirits. Grimmjow, they had told her, was the only one that believed she could still be alive- he had sent out search parties for her, and when they gave up, he continued on alone.

"_You treat me terribly… but then you go out searching for me until you look like this…" _She thinks to herself, looking down at the blue-haired man. She frowns faintly at how emaciated he looks, gently placing a cool rag on his forehead after dipping it in a snow filled bowl, trying to bring down the raging fever he has that is similar to what the prince had.

"_Ulquiorra."_

She gives a soft sigh at the thought of the beast lurking in castle that now seems so far away. Really, her small cottage doesn't feel like home anymore. After being so long with her friends and the prince, she almost feels like she's lost an entire family…

She stops thinking about it when a few tears drop onto Grimmjow's blankets, though a deep sadness has taken over her heart, and she wipes her eyes immediately, laughing at how pathetic she's being.

"_I miss you all… so, so much!"_

* * *

**AN II: ... not really sure what else to say about this one, other than I really liked writing it- honestly, I've been sort of excited about Ulquiorra letting Orihime go, not because I wanted her to go but just because... I don't even know how to explain it! XD Maybe the imagery I got to play with? ANYWAYYYY- next update will be up ASAP! Thanks for reading~! **


	20. Loosing an Arrow

**AN: Blargh, I know this took too long, and I'm sorry! I warned you all, but still, I feel bad! x.x" ANYWAYS, hope you guys enjoy this chapter, thanks for all of your patient support, and I can't _WAIT_ to hear what you all are going to say about this one! (;**

* * *

Nelliel stands in silence, unable to register what has just occurred. She watches as the prince pulls his bloodied claw from Nnoitra's abdomen, watches as Nnoitra's limp body falls forward through the air, watches as he doesn't even attempt to catch himself… and only when his body hits the frozen pavement is she able to understand.

She screams.

Lilynette and Starrk are shocked into silence, and as the prince pulls back a few steps, non-reactive to the terrible sound, everyone flinches, much as they used to before Orihime arrived when the beast was angry.

"Nnoitra…!"

The tears will themselves down her cheeks, and ever the empathetic and kind creature that she is- she runs over and drops to her knees beside him, unsure how to help him. Panic seizes every part of her body, her hands shake, her body trembles…

"C-call Szayel!" She screams to Lilynette and Starrk, who do not move- and when she registers they aren't, she screams again. "Get Szayel! G-get…!"

Giving up and out of breath, she lets the words die in her mouth, managing only to turn him over. His breathing is shallow, though he's still alive and very conscious. His uncovered eye is filled to the brim with anger, but when he searches for and finds her face it simmers, until only fear remains.

He had always told himself that when it came time for him to die, it would be in a way befitting a man- in the heat of battle, in a wave of passion… but all he can feel is anguish at the sight of the green haired girl sobbing above him, trying without any direction to stop his bleeding. When he comes to be able to see properly (as his vision had grown quite blurry in the first few waves of pain) he watches as the crimson covers her hands, though he can only do so for a moment. Managing to figure out how to move again, he reaches out and grabs one of her wrists, stopping her from doing anything more. She tries, in vain, to pull it away, but his grip is tight and still strong, despite his injury.

"Nnoitra, let me help you, let me-"

He gives her the look that he always has when she's tried to hug him, or grab his hand, or touch him in any other way. It's a look that says, in the simplest of ways: "Give it up." Her heart shatters, and she tries once more, only for him to give an irritated (and pained) grunt. She meets his gaze, and in the few seconds that they're there so many things are said that Nelliel can hardly keep up with them, though they will forever be branded into her now breaking heart. She starts to reach with her other hand to touch his face, though the prince has watched the scene unfold longer than he has pleased.

Ulquiorra wrenches Nelliel up by the upper arm, and Nnoitra's grip on her wrist loosens- their fingers slipping between one another's as they part. She gives out another heart-shattering scream, and both Lilynette and Starrk move forward to protect her (thinking he's about to hurt her too), though the prince immediately tosses her to stand with the rest of the group.

"He is a traitor, and this will be his punishment. Leave him."

Nelliel runs forward, trying to beg, but Starrk immediately grabs her arm and holds her back with the wisdom of an ancient man and the gentleness of a younger. He pulls her, along with Lilynette, away from the scene, and the prince glances back at the dying man with the most frigid of gazes, grasping to feel some kind of pity, as Orihime would want him to.

He feels not a thing.

* * *

_~The Next Day~_

Orihime sits staring out the window at the forest, her eyes cloudy, in deep thought. Grimmjow lies behind her in bed, still unconscious, though his fever is broken. Her mind lies far away from the small cottage, resting back at the castle with her friends. She can still imagine clearly the moment the prince landed in front of her- can still see the firm outline of his back and wings against the white that covered everything… and it breaks her heart, now that she truly thinks about it, that she'll likely never get to thank him for it…

Her thoughts are interrupted by the stirring Grimmjow, and she immediately stands, running over to his bedside. She hadn't seen him move since he had woken up in the forest, and she was beginning to fear that he wouldn't ever wake again.

"G-grimmjow…?" She asks timidly, touching his arm gently, eyes slightly wide.

The massive man gives out a bit of a groan, his jaw tensing faintly- eyes fluttering a little as he begins to wake up. When his eyes finally do open, electric blue meets uncertain grey- and she gives a faint sigh of relief, about to ask him if he needs anything when…

He wrenches her down and kisses her without warning.

It takes her a moment to understand what's going on, and despite her good-natured demeanor she slaps him across the face immediately, pulling herself away with as much force as is needed. His arms follow as she pulls away, though they fall limply at his sides once she's out of arms reach. It's as if he doesn't even understand that he's been struck. Her chest is heaving with anger and exertion, and they stare at each other a moment, until the now fully awake and no-longer-very-weak Grimmjow gives a wicked smirk, one that is so familiar to the red-head that it almost makes her sick on her stomach.

"I finally found you!" He roars out victoriously.

* * *

_~That Night~_

Ulquiorra stands outside on his veranda, looking down at the drawbridge below, and the green haired girl searching frantically in the dark with nothing but a candle to light her way. He knows what she's looking for, but he also knows that she will not find it.

Nnoitra's body is gone.

It hadn't really surprised him when he realized that the tall man had managed to get up and drag himself out into the forest (as the blood-trail seemed to imply)- Nnoitra had never been one to go down easily, and members of the curse are just a bit stronger than the average human. It doesn't take Nelliel long to realize it, and when she comes to find the bloody spot on the dark drawbridge and the line of blood splatter leading away from it, it almost seems that her body unwinds with relief. His frown deepens at this, realizing without care that Nnoitra was to Nelliel what Orihime had been to himself when the curse had been so close to breaking.

His wings stretch out violently when he abruptly remembers finding the girl, almost dead alongside _him_ in the forest, with her wide eyes and terrified voice. But he feels nothing- the gesture merely instinctive- and as the emptiness settles deeper into his bones, his wings relax. She's safe now, even if she is with him…

He glances up at the forest, eyes searching for a flash of red among the trees, the yellow reflecting only moonlight and no emotion.

He knows he'll never see her again.

* * *

Orihime sits beside Grimmjow in a chair, eating her dinner comfortably, far enough away from him so that he isn't able to touch her. The brawny man glances over at her, an irritated look on his face.

"You're really not going to make me dinner?"

"I'm really not going to make you dinner." She replies bluntly, sipping another spoonful of the (in her opinion) bland stuff. The house was severely lacking in ingredients after it had been cleaned out.

"You've gotta be kidding me… it was just a kiss! I was happy to see you, that's all!"

She eyes him with a sidelong glare, finishing her bowl and then frowning deeply. She doesn't give a reply. He growls faintly, crossing his arms.

"You're being heartless, you know that?"

She stiffens straight away at the word, images of the prince she left behind in the castle flashing through her mind. Grimmjow notices without issue, leaning back easily, though inside he's tense and angry- reminded of all that had happened before he woke up, and where he thinks- no, knows- she's been.

"Ulquiorra must've really got to you, if that word is so sensitive."

A chill fingers straight up Orihime's spine, and her heart drops abruptly. She looks at him immediately, eyes wide.

"How… how do you know about him?" She asks quietly and slowly, somehow afraid of the question.

The cat-like man smirks faintly, eyes glinting with something akin to amusement. She can hardly contain her dread of the look on his face, feeling as if it's the same he'd have right before loosing an arrow on an unsuspecting doe.

"I'm his half-brother, that's why."

* * *

**AN II: Like I said- I can't WAIT to hear what you guys think! XD See you next update, which will be up ASAP! (:**


	21. Tell Me His Story

**AN: Hello my lovely readers! (: I've finally managed to find time to get an update up for you, though it's rather small compared to the chapters recently. ^.^" The next update should be a bit longer though! I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long- and I also hope that you love the update! (: Let me know what you think!**

* * *

She can't bring herself to say anything. Despite the numerous questions that suddenly pierce through her mind, she can't say a word. All she can think is that it's not possible, it's not possible, not possible at all, and…

"How is my little brother?" Grimmjow murmurs hatefully.

The sound of his voice shocks her out of the stomach-dropping rush of emotion, and she just blinks a few times, only able to get a few words out, an aftereffect of her mind rushing earlier.

"T-that's not… that's not possible…"

"How is it not possible?" He asks, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, blue eyes gazing through her.

The look shakes her to the core, and she suddenly feels the need to stand- to escape that gaze- and she heads for the door immediately, knowing nowhere else to go. He doesn't let her leave without getting one more sentence in, however, and it disturbs her so greatly that her stomach almost heaves.

"Was he that _thing_ in the forest?"

Then she's gone.

* * *

The terrified girl breaks into a sprint as soon as the door shuts, not caring about a cloak or even snow boots- just running, running, running, running away from what she knows is now true…

What's really scaring her is not what Grimmjow had said, no, it's the emotion that came with it- the pain of knowing that Ulquiorra was not just hers any longer- the forgotten kingdom not so forgotten, the heartless prince now somehow connected to the reality she's always longed to escape. It terrifies her that the beast is not all her own, because…

She knows the end of the sentence, but it makes her want to scream and it makes her heart want to break, and she doesn't want to feel that way. The only thing she can compare it to was the feeling she got when she finally realized that Sora would never come home- the knowledge that the world would never be the same- and now, that Ulquiorra won't ever look the same to her either.

She doesn't know how she managed to shield herself from the truth for so long, and it makes her _so _angry, _so so_ angry, that now that he's not at arm's reach she can finally admit it to herself- that night at the castle, it was so clear what she had been feeling, but she just wouldn't just admit it! She could've stayed there forever, maybe, if he felt the same. He had tried to kiss her, hadn't he? But that could've been heat of the moment, instinctual…

Can he feel the same?

She almost laughs at herself when she asks this question, finally halting her running at the edge of a cliff facing white mountaintops and a frozen river. She stares over, another realization fully taking over her.

"_It doesn't matter if he feels the same!"_

Finally the tears come, and they wash over her with such force that she doubles over in a sob. She doesn't care if he feels the same or not- because no matter what, she will _always _feel the way she does. Whether he can show her affection, or any emotion, is meaningless now.

As her tears come to a quiet end, she looks up at the sky, watching as the snow falls in sheets around her, wishing with all her heart that she could tell him, right now. But she can't, and she's stuck far away from him, with Grimmjow, of all people.

Another wave of emotion passes over her, though this time, rather than terror or pain, it's frustration. Why had she run out to save him? He hadn't ever done her a kindness- hadn't ever been good to her- he had only been rude, and trampled all over her feelings from the moment they had met. So why did she save him? What had pushed her from the castle, from her friends, and from the beast? She had been so stupid to leave… but then again, why hadn't Ulquiorra wanted her to bring him back with her, if they were brothers? Szayel could've taken care of him…

She wipes her eyes, turning back and looking in the direction of the house, the cold finally reaching her skin and making her shiver. She remembers the bitter tone with which Grimmjow had asked her about Ulquiorra before she ran from the house in panic, and she slowly comes to understand that she has someone to answer the question for her.

Grimmjow.

* * *

When Orihime enters the house, Grimmjow is lying back in bed silently, hands behind his head, eyes closed. She waits for a few moments before shutting the door, the warmth of the house inviting her further in, though she stands frigidly in the doorway, staring at him.

"I believe you." She murmurs suddenly.

The blue-haired man grunts a little in reply, opening his eyes and glancing at her.

"And so what? Took you all this time to decide that, did it?"

"No. That's not what I meant to say…" She trails off, abruptly uncomfortable with talking to him, realizing what she wants. "I just… I want you to explain how."

Grimmjow rolls his eyes, giving a bit of a groan and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Look, I can give you a lesson on the birds and the bees if that's what you m-"

"No." She cuts him off immediately. "That's not what I meant either."

The blue haired man raises an eyebrow at her, faintly irritated.

"Then what the hell do you want?"

"I… I want to know everything about him." She whispers with sudden softness in her voice and eyes, surprising Grimmjow. "I want to know his story."

* * *

**AN II: Well, I know this update was a bit more for plot, but I think Orihime has definitely made some big strides, especially in regards to her relationship with Ulquiorra! (; Hope you enjoyed! Talk to you all next update, which will be up as soon as I possibly can write it! (I already have a lot planned out, so hopefully the wait won't be as long this time!) XD**


	22. Felina

**AN: FINALLY ABLE TO UPDATE! XD I am soooo glad I had time to write this so quickly, I really figured it'd take a little longer (if I'm honest), but I feel really happy with the results, and I think you guys will too! (: Please leave a review letting me know what you think of this one! :3 Also, a plate of fake-cyber-cookies to anybody who knows where the chapter title is from! XD**

* * *

Grimmjow glares at Orihime faintly, electric blue eyes burning with flame.

"It's _our _story, really…" He mutters jealously, somehow feeling inferior to the prince. He runs a hand through his hair, calming his sudden spike of anger for her sake. "What do you mean by everything?"

"Everything." She replies quickly, emphasizing the word as much as she can without feeling like she sounds too eager. He picks up on it, however, anger flaring.

"You-!"

"Please, Grimmjow." She murmurs, looking up at him, eyes melting completely with an emotion he's never seen on her face before- one that he can't place. His anger dulls abruptly, and his own voice becomes faintly gentle when he replies.

"It's a long story… so get comfortable." He murmurs, leaning back himself, grumbling faintly after a slight pause. "I don't even know where the hell to start."

There's another pause, one that isn't very long, though it's enough time for him to get his bearings. Eventually, he gives an exasperated sigh, deciding where to begin.

"It started on a snowy night, a long freakin' time ago. My mother had just ascended the throne as my father's queen a few years before…"

* * *

_A young woman runs through the small village close to the castle, sprinting at a quick pace, turning corners left and right with ease, clunky soldiers trailing behind her with great difficulty. Tucked away in her cloak there lies a loaf of bread that she believes had just been thrown out, though the men had accused her of stealing it (and really she had, as she had been confused about a cart selling wares). She hadn't known any better- a traveler from across the seas, she knew nothing of the laws in the village or kingdom, and couldn't have found out very easily. Luckily, she's an agile woman, and it doesn't take her long to be so far ahead of them that they can't tell which alley-way she's been down anymore. Resting up against a wall after turning another corner, she slides down, tucking her cloak around her as tightly as she can, freezing. Her breath shows in front of her face, and the only warmth she really has is from the warm bread against her abdomen. She takes it out quickly, stuffing the stuff in her mouth without much care for cleanliness, practically feeling it travel all the way down her throat to her stomach. She hadn't eaten in quite a while- the ship had run out of supplies, as the trip she had been on had taken longer than expected, and she, along with the others that she traveled with, were hungry. On her last mouthful, she gives a contented sigh, relaxing and closing her eyes for a quick nap. Right as she thinks she's truly safe, however, they find her, and before she can even attempt to run again they grab her by the wrist, shackling her. _

"_Skinny bitch…" One of the soldiers murmurs, pushing her forward roughly, allowing her to hit the concrete without much mercy. He turns to look at her, a wicked grin on his face. "The penalty for stealing around here is a hand… but you've caused us so much trouble it might be a bit worse for you!" _

_Another soldier picks her up, throwing her over the back of a horse. _

"_I think the king can teach you a lesson on manners, brat." _

_She can't even scream._

* * *

_Inside the throne room, the queen and king sit beside each other, a three-year-old Grimmjow being coddled by his queen mother. The king is speaking to a few soldiers, who have already warned of a thief and troublemaker (who caused oh so much damage to the village…) being brought into his presence. He turns to his wife, Acadia, grinning fiercely. _

"_How does an execution sound to you, my dear?" _

_She glances up at him, only half-way paying attention, too fixated on the young prince on her lap. She is undoubtedly beautiful, with golden hair and bright blue eyes…_

* * *

Grimmjow pauses for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the scene unfolding in his memories. Orihime holds her breath faintly as the words finally come to him, and he continues with his story.

"My mother was beautiful. One of the prettiest women you'd ever see- they called her the sapphire of the ocean. But when _she _came in, and that cloak was taken off her head… nobody could take their eyes off of her. It was the kind of face you don't ever forget- ever. I was three, and I can still see her face, as if I saw it minutes ago. I can still remember the expression on it too- absolute fear and confusion…"

* * *

_As soon as the girl looks up at both the king and queen, Acadia knows that by every means, she's lost everything. She knows immediately that despite her own beauty, despite the king's love for her (because no matter what, everyone knew that he loved her, even after he saw the girl), the spell that had just been cast on everyone would never fade. She was breathtaking, the thief- slender, with jet-black hair, ivory skin, and green eyes the color of emerald, with the same amount of shine as the polished rock, and a glitter that was unforgettable. Her eyes are filled with confusion and terror, and she immediately bows, falling on her hands and knees. The king stands up, and Acadia chances a glance up at him to see the lust that has filled his eyes to the brim. She's lost, there's no doubt about it._

"_Is this some type of joke, soldier?" He growls at the man who stares gaping at the young woman whose face he just exposed. _

"_N-no sire… we didn't know that…" The soldier trails off, though everyone knows the ending to the sentence. We didn't know she was beautiful, he would've said. The toddler Grimmjow, sitting in his mother's lap, even knows that._

_A silence overtakes the room for a moment, and the king looks down at the young woman, who is still bowing without movement, afraid for her life._

"_You may stand, woman." He orders, his strong jaw flexing faintly as he gives a faint smirk. The young woman looks up, but then quickly looks down, standing without daring to look at the king again._

"_Forgive me your highness…" She murmurs. _

_It's as if another spell has taken over the room as the words leave her lips. She has an exotic type of accent, one not very familiar, though the words are sure, very humble, and kind. _

"_What is your name?" The king interrupts, completely fixated on her face and body. "Look at me, thief."_

_She dares a look up at him then, her lips parting unsurely. She glances over at the queen for a moment, taking in the cold and shocked look on the woman's face, and the toddler squirming in her lap. She realizes she will be given no mercy from Acadia, whom she hoped would be kind, and finally takes a deep breath, revealing her name to the awestruck court of the king and queen. _

"_My name is Felina."_

* * *

"Ulquiorra's mother…" Orihime breathes, eyes widening with the sudden realization. Grimmjow frowns deeply, eyes narrowing much like before.

"Yeah."

"B-but… your father was already married to your mother- that has to mean-"

"Exactly." He cuts her off, crossing his arms, suddenly tense. "She was my father's concubine… and a year after she arrived at the castle, she had _him. _But I'll tell you this… it wasn't by her own choice. She knew my father would've killed her without mercy if she didn't consent to being what she was. She hated my father, but she kept a smile on her face because she had to. Hell, everybody hated my father. He was cruel, disgusting… heartless. I guess my mother loved him once, but I'll never understand or know why."

Orihime begins to pick up on the inflection in Grimmjow's voice, and without thinking she blurts out exactly what comes to her mind.

"You hated your father."

His jaw tenses fiercely, and his hands clench into fists.

"I hated my father, yes."

"And Felina?"

He glances up at her, and for a moment there's a hint of something in his eyes, though it is quickly masked by a coldness that echoes from somewhere deep inside of him- as if it's a numbing agent automatically released to keep emotion at bay.

"Felina…" He trails off for a moment, face contorting in frustration at not being able to explain fully. Orihime is patient, already used to these types of pauses, since he's already done this multiple times to try and figure out how to describe everything correctly. "… Felina was an angel. She never did anything wrong to anybody. She ended up being the queen of the castle, even if she didn't have the title, or the right. She was kind to everyone, even me- the king's other son, born to a woman who _hated_ her more than anything else. If she knew that someone was sick, even if she were herself, she would visit them. Even when my mother hit her, or gave her cruel work… she wouldn't ever have anything unkind to say about her."

After another short pause, Grimmjow glances up at Orihime with uneasiness in his eyes, as if embarrassed or hesitant to say what he does.

"Felina was more of a mother to me than my own. And believe it or not, there was a time that I didn't hate my younger brother. But then…" He trails off, a cloudiness overtaking his eyes. "…Felina died."

* * *

**AN II: Ending on bit of a sad note, but suspenseful all the same! Lots of stuff revealed about Ulqui and Grimmjow's past...! Hope you enjoyed! :D **


	23. Two Sons

**AN: I'm sorry this took so long guys! ): I had a spot of trouble writing this chapter, honestly, but I really think it came out well! I hope you all enjoy- please please please review and let me know what you think! ^.^**

* * *

Orihime hardly has time to register what Grimmjow has said, or question how it happened, before he branches off to talk more about Ulquiorra.

"That's what changed him- her death. Ulquiorra wasn't always so cold. He was really an idiot, a sensitive little… I don't even know how to explain it, he was just so damn…" He frowns for a moment, pausing just long enough to find the word he's looking for, half-way laughing at himself when he realizes how simple it is. "He was always so damn happy."

* * *

_Grimmjow runs ahead of both Felina and the young Ulquiorra struggling to catch up with him, turning just in time to stick his tongue out at the boy who looks very much like his mother. Ulquiorra (who is now around three) glances up just in time to miss seeing a rock hiding in the tall meadow grass in front of him, tripping over it and face-planting in the soft dirt. Grimmjow laughs and points, and Felina even chuckles a little herself as she picks the pouty looking toddler up and dusts him off. _

_It's the allotted time for outdoor activity for the two young boys, and both the queen and Felina had decided earlier to go with them outside, though Acadia wouldn't travel very far, not wanting to "ruin her dress or complexion." Grimmjow had been highly disappointed when he saw Ulquiorra running out towards the large meadow with his mother, and had begged his own to be allowed to go with them. The queen had begrudgingly agreed, only because she knew how much Grimmjow would bother her otherwise, and because, truthfully, she did have a large soft-spot for her son, and did not want him to be unhappy. _

"_Just don't go far, I want to be able to watch you." Was what Acadia had said to him. He had "forgotten" this last tidbit, however._

"_Now now, don't look so pouty Ulquiorra. It doesn't suit you." Felina murmurs, smiling kindly and kneeling in front of her son. She brushes a lock of his ebony hair away from his face, wiping off a rather large smudge of dirt on his cheek with her dress sleeve. Ulquiorra immediately grins, and Grimmjow, becoming jealous, runs over, grabs Felina's arm, and tugs on her a little. _

"_Common! We're not gonna have enough time to make it to the bird nest you told us about if we don't hurry!" _

_Ulquiorra, immediately agreeing with his brother, suddenly becomes quite serious, trying to copy the blue haired seven-year-old, pulling her as well. She laughs, grabbing both of their hands, and rather than pushing them away pulls them into a warm embrace. _

"_Oh you boys, always in such a hurry for everything." _

_She kisses the top of both of their heads, smiling. _

"_I love you both so much." _

_Grimmjow immediately blushes, feeling awkward, and Ulquiorra begins to laugh at him. _

"_Brothwer is embarrwased!" He giggles._

"_Oh shut up! What do you know?!" Grimmjow barks at him in reply, pulling away from the hug and crossing his arms, gritting his teeth. "I'm almost a teenager- I don't get embarrassed from crap like that!" _

_Felina laughs at what Grimmjow says, allowing the squirming Ulquiorra to break free from the embrace and go to stand with his brother, though really he ends up running around him singing: "He's embarrwased! He's embarrwased!" over and over again. The young woman rolls her eyes a little, grinning, deciding to just sit down and let them argue (and eventually play), relaxing in the warm spring sun, enjoying being with the only two things that seem to make her life worthwhile. _

_Her sons._

* * *

As the memory fades from Grimmjow's mind, the smile on his face does as well, followed by the light dancing in his eyes dying out completely. Orihime almost asks if he's okay, but he continues after an average short pause.

"That was one of the best things about Felina. She took us places, did things with us, and treated me like her own son. She hated that- my mother. She hated that I let her. That I was happier with a concubine than herself, happier being away from her than beside her… and over the years, it only got worse. My father pushed her too, I suppose. When I started to get a little older I noticed his favoritism. Like I said… Felina became queen, whether she meant to or not. My mother went insane with jealousy, and I guess, no, I know that's why…"

"Why what?"

Grimmjow frowns deeply, looking away from the red-head and swallowing hard, as if in pain.

"Why my mother killed her."

* * *

_Grimmjow (now fifteen) stands in silent horror at his mother holding the knife to Felina's neck. He had accidentally come upon the scene only minutes before, having been looking for his own mother because the king was asking about her absence. Felina's face is beaten black and blue, one eye almost completely swollen shut, thrown to her knees in front of the queen, who is holding her by the hair. He knows he can stop his mother, and she does too, whispering to him in a gentle (though crazed) voice to attempt to keep him at bay._

"_You haven't seen anything, right sweetheart? Mommy has just been talking to Felina, hasn't she?" _

_Her blue eyes are alight with insanity, and Grimmjow glances at Felina, who immediately reaches out to him with one bleeding arm, eyes alight with fear. He swallows deeply, taking a step forward, about to help the poor beaten woman on the floor, though Acadia holds the knife towards him, screeching: "I'll kill you too if you take one more step!" _

_He stops then, unsure, and Felina makes a sad sort of whine, letting her hand fall away, fighting to move her head to look at the mad woman grasping the knife and her hair. The fear in her eyes is gone, and for the split second that Grimmjow and the green-eyed woman's eyes meet, there's a sense of finality there, as if she's saying goodbye. That emotion is washed away with the purest form of sadness._

"_I'm sorry I made you this way." Is all she says. _

_Grimmjow looks away just in time to miss Acadia slitting her throat._

* * *

_He runs immediately when he hears the sickening sound of blood splatter, alerting the guards merely by running past them from the room. There's nothing for him to do but just that, and when he slams into Ulquiorra, his eyes are filled with tears and his stomach is heaving. He vomits in the hall before he can say anything, and Ulquiorra starts to attempt to help him, confused, though he is immediately stopped by his terrified brother, who grabs his shoulders. _

"_Y-you're mom!" _

_Ulquiorra's eyes fill with terror, and he starts to pull away to go towards Felina's room, though Grimmjow grabs his arm, spinning him around. _

"_D-don't go in there… my mom… she went insane and…" _

_Ulquiorra stares at him blankly for a moment, catching on to what he's saying with great shock. His eyes suddenly fill with violent hatred, that emotion covering up the terror. _

"_What did she do?!" The raven haired boy screams, pushing Grimmjow off. "What did you see?!" _

_Grimmjow staggers back, eyes wide, shaking. _

"_S-she k-killed her… r-right in f-front of me... I didn't…"_

_Ulquiorra doesn't wait to hear the rest, running for his mother's room. Grimmjow follows after him, trying to stop him with all his might, grabbing his shirt._

"_Don't go in there! Don't! You won't want to see-" _

_Ulquiorra turns on his heel, fist making contact with Grimmjow's face with a large amount of force. The blue haired boy falls back immediately, holding his bloodied nose, and Ulquiorra turns away, continuing on his course. _

_Acadia is already executed by the time Ulquiorra gets there._

* * *

**AN II: Whelp. There you have it. XD Not really sure what to say about this chapter, but**** I'm sorry again for taking so long to update, I'm really trying! The next chapter will be up ASAP- I'll attempt to make the wait shorter for you guys! Thanks for all of your kind patience! ^-^ See you next update!**


	24. Nothing's Changed

**AN: Ughhh this is the longest I've ever taken to update for this story, and I'm SO sorry! I've been super-duper busy, honest! (I hope you're still there... .-.) Well, if you are, here's the next chapter! I did a bit of a time skip here, mostly because I felt the story needed a shift from the back and forth business! Hope you enjoy, please leave me a review with what you think!**

* * *

~Three Weeks Later~

Orihime sits in front of the living-area window, legs curled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them. A blanket covers her shoulders, and it drapes around the chair she's sitting in comfortably enough to give her breathing room. Her hair looks a little more frizzed and dull than normal, and her eyes have a distant and misty look in them, as if she's a lost little girl.

Grimmjow stands in front of Orihime's vanity mirror, fixing his tunic collar, his long-bow propped up against the dresser part of the vanity.

"I'm just going to get us some more meat, alright? Shouldn't take me long."

He glances over at her, waiting for a reply, but there's no answer. Giving a heaving sigh at the silence, he slings his thick cloak over his shoulders. It had been about two weeks since he had gotten well enough to go out, though it seems now that the weakness that had taken over him had leeched onto her since they had finished their conversation. Stepping over to the other half of the room, he comes up beside her, bending down enough to look at her face. Still, she doesn't turn, just looking out the window dully, trying to find whatever she's looking for.

"Orihime…" He murmurs gently, brushing his fingers across her cheek, about to say something kind. When she doesn't flinch or even remotely react, however, he ends up trailing off. Understanding that he'll get no response, he grits his teeth faintly, standing up tensely, voice bitter. "…I'll be back later."

When the door slams shut announcing his exit she finally moves, glancing over at the large wooden door with a wounded expression on her face. She hates treating him that way, but there's nothing that can change it- every time he looks at her she remembers what he had told her those few weeks ago…

* * *

"_Ulquiorra was… cold after that. Like a statue. Nothing was the same between us anymore- he hated me, even if he didn't want to admit it. Hell, I think I hated him too, in a way." He shrugs faintly, running a hand through his hair nonchalantly. "He blamed me for not stopping my mother."_

"_Wouldn't you have felt the same way if the roles were reversed?" Orihime murmurs, looking down at her hands in her lap. Grimmjow crosses his arms irritably, frowning deeply. _

"_I was just a kid. I didn't know what to do."_

_Orihime frowns a little, the corners of her mouth turning downward sharply. She knows he's either lying to himself or not letting her prove her point, and either way she thinks it's a little more than selfish. She would've tried with all her might to stop Acadia, had she been there…_

"_He got even worse when my dad started dragging him around everywhere. I guess he saw Felina in Ulquiorra, but I don't know." Grimmjow scoffs faintly. "Ulquiorra became like a copy of him, whether or not it was intentional. Heartless, cold, cruel… the executioner in the dungeon had more mercy by the time Ulquiorra turned fifteen."_

_At this Orihime frowns even deeper than before, holding her tongue (and thoughts) about Ulquiorra back because she sees he's about to speak more. _

"_Anyway, my father and I ended up going out on a trip around… I don't know, around three years ago. He left Ulquiorra in charge." He grits his teeth for a moment. "Honestly, I think my father had taken me out on that trip to kill me, but he got sick first, horribly sick." _

_He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath, frowning faintly._

"_My father died, and when we tried to go back to the castle to bury him, it was hell. It was like we'd go in circles for forever, as if the driver didn't know where the he was going. So we ended up going back to the village, right? Nobody had heard of us- nobody had heard of the kingdom, the castle, anything. It was like it had vanished from the face of the earth. We ended up having to bury him there in that village and try to find a way back. Honestly, for a while I thought the driver and I had gone nuts, but then…" He trails off, smiling a little. "Then I found out what freedom was like. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot more freedom than most at the castle, but this was different. I didn't have to worry about being the perfect son, the perfect role-model, the perfect king. I was whoever the hell I wanted to be, and nobody could stop me. Ulquiorra could have the castle- I had something better, and I wasn't gonna lose it. Eventually, I stopped looking for a way back home… and I made my own life."_

_He glances at her strangely when he says this last sentence, a flicker of something warm in his eyes. He'd never admit it, but it was when he had met her that he decided to really settle down- he'd had his fair share of women by then, but it was different with her- she was different. She gave him hope for himself- mostly because she had a terrible past just like him, losing her brother and living alone from then on, and yet she kept a smile on her face and kept going, never hinting to the fact that…_

_There's a pause in his thought process here, two things connecting that almost make him jump for joy- not because of what they are but because it will push her away from Ulquiorra completely, and drive her straight to his side. Choosing his words carefully and speaking with great hesitance, he looks up at her, straight in the eyes._

"_You know, I don't know how you found that castle, or my brother… I don't understand why you could and I couldn't, but…" He glances down at his folded arms uneasily, not wanting to see her face, knowing that what he's about to say will hurt her deeply."... if you could find it, who's to say your brother didn't?"_

* * *

It had hit her then- become so clear and so terrible to her that nothing could turn things around. It was as if she had been sent spiraling down into a pit of nightmares- one that she wouldn't ever be able to crawl out of, Grimmjow's implication being the catalyst. How could she not have realized it?

"_He may've killed my brother…"_

The tears fall then, numerous and large, slipping down her cheeks rapidly. She covers her own mouth with her hand to quiet her sobs, though that doesn't help much, and doesn't keep her shoulders from racking roughly. The thought that he may've killed her brother, however, isn't why she's crying.

It's the fact that it doesn't change anything about him to her at all.

* * *

Grimmjow lets loose an arrow, narrowly missing a deer's skull and instead puncturing the tree behind it. He watches as the deer bounds off, in a violent rage, holding himself back from punching a hole in a tree only because he's trying to be gentler for Orihime's sake- even if she isn't around.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" He seethes, stomping through the snow to go and retrieve his arrow. He's usually better at aiming, but since he's emotionally compromised at the moment he can't hit a thing.

Pulling the arrow from the trunk of the tree, he sits down up against it, breathing heavily, hand to his head. He can't understand why she's so cold to him now- he almost thinks it should be the opposite, though he also understands that what he said had opened a superficially healed but internally raw wound. He regrets saying it, now that he sees how much vivacity it's taken from her, but he knows there's nothing he can do to take it back but let whatever she's going through pass. Remembering that he's missed another deer, he groans to himself.

"_What the hell am I supposed to do now?" _

He glances up at the quickly darkening sky, eyes narrowing faintly. No meat for dinner tonight, and there's no way he's chancing staying in these woods after dark, especially if those wolves are still around. He can only barely remember the night Orihime found him- small flashes of snarling wolves, orange hair, and Ulquiorra's image are the only things that are clear- despite the fact that he almost died. Orihime still hasn't filled in anything about that night or her absence either, and he isn't going to ask, honestly afraid that it'll only push her farther into her closed off shell.

He finally stands with a sigh, the breath showing in front of his face almost invisible in the darkness, though the cold has numbed his fingers. He hurries as the shadows grow longer, pushing his way back to the trail he made, following the small slices in the trees he cut that lead him back to Orihime's cottage. Halfway grumbling as he steps into the clearing leading to her home, he calms himself into silence, remembering that he's come back without any dinner for them, other than the roots and herbs he gathered on the way.

Upon entering the house, he's greeted with an empty silence, though this doesn't worry him, as the first thing he finds in the room is Orihime. Her head lies up against on her knees, and by the tear streaks on her face he can tell she must've cried herself to sleep. Eyebrows furrowing, he puts down his bow quietly, throwing his cloak on a chair by the door. He steps up to her, gently picking her up, holding her bridal style, though her body is limp. He carefully re-adjusts her head to rest against his chest, glancing down at her with faint dullness in his eyes as she cringes even in her sleep.

"_I guess I've done this to you, haven't I?" _He thinks to himself, stepping over to the bed. _"I should've realized by then that you…"_

His own thoughts trail off, and he sets her down in bed gently, covering her with the already thrown-aside comforter. She doesn't stir at all, though her lips now move, mouthing out a name that he knows very well to be his brother's. The sadness marked on his face quickly becomes that of something else, something akin to what his mother had looked like when Felina was first brought before the king. He knows now that he's lost just like his mother did. Even more than that, he knows, without a doubt, there's only one way for him to win.

He'll have to kill his brother.

* * *

**AN II: DUN DUN DUN. That is all. XD**

**P.S.: Not really (XD)- next update to be up ASAP! Thank you all for your patience, hope you enjoyed it! **


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